Hidden Dangers
by izzygeorge
Summary: Izzy meets the new intern Palmer Talbot. Is he really as nice as he seems? Mer,Christina,Izzy friendship some fun romance and great Grey's one liners! Please read and review. 1st fanfic. Based on old Grey's seasons.
1. Chapter 1

Izzy clings to George for one more moment before pulling away and saying quietly, "Thank you

"Did you check out the new intern? He's the hottest thing I've ever seen!" Meredith pants as she runs into the locker room.

Christina rolls her eyes. "Yeah…he's a regular McHottie. He just better not think he's pushing in on any of my surgeries."

"Yes Christina, because the world is always out to get you and stop you from succeeding," George says with a smirk.

"Oh my god! Have you seen the new intern?" Izzy squeals as she runs into the room?

"You missed it. I already claimed him!" Meredith replies.

"Oh, I don't think so, because I'm working with him at the clinic tonight. Besides, what would Derek think?" Izzy asks, innocently.

"Do boyfriends have to know everything?" Meredith sulks.

"Well, I'll catch you guys later! I'm going to head down to the clinic a little bit early. For some reason I'm really looking forward to work tonight!" Izzy smiles as she saunters out of the room.

"It's good to see her happy. She hasn't really been interested in dating or flirting or anything since Denny died," George points out.

"It's never good to see anyone that happy. It's annoying. I have to run. Burke wants to look at table cloths for the wedding. Can you believe it? I think I may be a lesbian because I'm marrying a girl!" Christina points out.

When Izzy enters the clinic the new intern is already there shuffling through some paperwork.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Talbot," he says formally, extending his hand for Izzy to shake.

"I'm Dr. Isobel Stevens, but my friends call me Izzy," she replies with a warm smile.

"So are we friends now, Izzy?" Dr. Talbot smiles back.

"Not until you tell me your first name," Izzy quips.

"Sorry. You're right. How rude of me. I'm Palmer. Palmer Talbot."

"Now we're friends," Izzy replied, "Welcome to Seattle Grace, Palmer Talbot."

"Thanks Izzy Stevens," he said as they both noticed their first patient walk in.

"I got this one," Izzy said, as she walked towards the elderly lady who is hobbling on a cane as though she might topple over at any moment.

"And I'll take that one," Palmer replied with a smile, heading to the door to welcome a little girl who is clinging to her mother's leg and howling in pain.

Christina storms into the cafeteria and slams down her tray.

"Bad day?" asks Meredith.

"Okay…this new intern…he's got to go. What kind of a name is Palmer anyway?" Christina complains.

"What happened?" George asks seeming more interested in his sandwich.

"I was taken off Burke's heart-lung transplant tomorrow. I studied for weeks for that surgery and I was ready. Now Palmer is scrubbing in and I'm stuck doing some hip replacement on an old guy with Callie." Christina continues.

"Hey! What's wrong with Callie? You're talking about my wife, Yang," George says half jokingly but with a hint of defensiveness.

"No. I'm talking about a heart-lung transplant vs. a hip replacement. YOU are talking about your wife!" Christina says angrily.

"I hear he's in with the chief. Burke probably had no choice." Alex says.

"Oh. I'm sure Burke had no choice. Believe me…he has to live with me, and besides, why wouldn't he want me in on his surgery? I'm the best there is," Christina says, confidently.

"Come on, Christina, you can't monopolize every single cardiac adventure that goes on here. Relax. There'll be others. Palmer seems like a good guy. And he's easy on the eyes," Meredith quips.

"You say that about everyone since you and McDreamy broke up," Christina fires back.

"Woah! Down girl. I'm going back to work. This lunch is getting too intense for me," Meredith says, picking up her tray.

"Palmer and I are going golfing on Saturday," Alex says.

"Figures, a guy named Palmer Talbot would golf," Christina mumbles bitterly.

"I wonder how he and Izzy are getting along down there," George says, "I haven't seen her as happy as she was this morning since Denny proposed to her.

"I'm so tired! I've been on for the last 72 hours and none of them have been quiet," Izzy complains.

"I think I like Seattle Grace. The hospital I came from was much smaller. Less busy. And the company wasn't as good," Palmer says, flashing a dimple.

"I can't wait to fall into bed," Izzy says as she files her last chart.

"That's an image I'd love to see," says Palmer.

Izzy bristles slightly. It is the first sexual comment a guy has made to her since Denny passed away. She is slightly uncomfortable, yet excited about his attention,

"Wow! That was a thought that should have stayed in my head," Palmer says.

Izzy tries to explain, "No…its fine. It's just that…well…it's been a long time since…well…Wow! This is awkward."

"Okay…let's start over. I'm Palmer Talbot,"

"Oh! We're going all the way back there? Well, then I'm Izzy Stevens,"

"Okay, Izzy Stevens, do you want to grab a drink before you go home and fall into bed?" Palmer asks with a smile.

"I'd love to. There's a great place we go to called Joe's," Izzy replies.

Ch. 2

Izzy bounds into the locker room at 6am where Meredith, Christina, Alex and George are all slumped over looking like they haven't slept in weeks.

"Good morning!" she chirps.

"Okay…you see, THAT is not going to work. I don't do chipper. If you're going to be all bubbly, go somewhere else," Christina mumbles.

Meredith perks up. "Does this sudden mood have something to do with a certain new intern?"

Izzy smiles secretively. "Maybe it does. We went to Joe's last night after we closed up the clinic, and we talked almost all night. He's such a great listener. I told him everything about myself and my past, and even Denny, and we just got to know each other,"

Meredith sits at the edge of her seat. "So what did you find out about him?"

Izzy pauses for a moment. She thinks back to their conversation. She shared all her secrets with him. She told him about growing up in the trailer park, her career as a nude model to get herself through medical school, her unplanned teen pregnancy and how hard it was to give her daughter up for adoption. She told him about Denny and his death and her breakdown afterwards, and how hard it was for her to get to the point where she felt balanced again. She tried to remember what he had shared, but all she remembered him saying was, _My poor Izzy Stevens. You've been through so much. You need someone to wrap you up in their arms and protect you from this big, bad, world._

"Actually, I'm not sure! Maybe I talked too much. I hope I didn't scare him off. Do you think I rambled too much? Maybe I did. Maybe I should have asked him more about himself," Izzy panics

"Yeah, like why he took over my surgery today. Gotta run. It's time to give the old guy a new hip," Christina says as she leaves.

"Come on Iz, I'm sure he told you plenty, you just don't remember right now. You better get moving though. Bailey's on the warpath today," George consoles her.

"So, was there a smooch goodnight?" Alex asks with a smirk.

Meredith leans in for the answer, as Izzy replies, "Nope. He was a perfect gentleman. We left in separate cars and he's taking me to dinner tonight. Sorry to disappoint!"

As all of the interns scatter throughout the hospital, Meredith watches Izzy's bouncy walk and thinks, "She's so lucky. I can't wait to be that excited about someone again!"

Palmer walks into Preston Burke's operating room about fifteen minutes before he was expected. Burke is annoyed that he has to use this intern that he knows nothing about on such a high profile surgery, when he could have had Christina scrubbing in. Besides, he knows how upset Christina is to not be scrubbing in, and he knows he will hear more about it later.

"Dr. Burke. It is a pleasure to meet you. I have been an admirer of yours for quite some time," Palmer says, extending his hand.

"Thank you," Dr. Burke replies, shaking Palmer's hand and then returning to his work.

"You're welcome. Please let me know what I can do to assist you in this surgery. I have been reading about the procedure. I scrubbed in on one heart-lung transplant when I was in New York, however it was quite different because the patient was a teenager with cystic fibrosis who was supposed to only need the lung, but then because of the oxygen level being…"

"You were in on that surgery? With Dr. Gollum? That was some pretty high profile stuff. What brought you here?" Dr. Burke says, slightly more impressed with this new intern.

"Well…I just felt it was time to move on. Besides, as I said before, I am quite an admirer of your work," Palmer says without missing a beat.

"It's good to have you on board. Let's read through the charts and I'll point out a few things we need to watch out for," Dr. Burke says, suddenly warming up to the young intern.

As Izzy walks in the door, she heads straight upstairs to change out of her scrubs and take a fast shower before 8:00pm when Palmer is going to pick her up. _This night is going to be perfect. It's going to be that first real date with that new guy where you fall in love and you have all those feelings that are indescribable but you don't really need words to describe because everyone who has ever been there knows what you mean._

As Izzy steps out of the shower and starts to change her clothing, Meredith comes home. Normally, Izzy would love to have the house to herself for a bit, but she is secretly glad to have someone to share her excitement with.

"Mer?" she calls out.

"Hi Izzy. Are you getting ready for your big date?"

"Yes! Can you tell me if this outfit is okay? I feel like it might be too much," Izzy says, insecurely.

Meredith bounds up the steps, and when she sees Izzy, she stops dead in her tracks. "Oh my God!"

"What? It's too much….isn't it? I knew it was," Izzy says.

"No! Not at all!" Meredith takes in Izzy's perfect figure and slim black pants with her salmon colored satin halter top. Even her jewelry is coordinated. She is used to Izzy looking naturally beautiful, but has not seen her friend look that glamorous in a long time. "You look incredible. I'm living vicariously through your happiness right now," Meredith says, as she thinks about all the times she used to get dressed up for Derek before they'd go out in the beginning.

"Oh Mer. I'm sorry. I have been so wrapped up in myself. I haven't even asked…How are you doing?" Izzy says, ashamed of the fact that she is rubbing her new relationship in Meredith's face so soon after her and Derek's breakup.

Meredith brightens unnaturally quickly. "No! I'm fine. Please, let me bask in your first date excitement and find out if he has a friend. You look gorgeous and he'll be here any minute," she says warmly.

"Thanks Mer," Izzy replies taking one last look in the mirror.

The doorbell rings and Meredith says, "I'll get it. You make a grand entrance!"

She opens the door as Izzy hides in her room and enjoys her moment of excitement. She loves having roommates. Despite the obvious disadvantages, she enjoys always having someone around to share her happiness or sadness with.

"Meredith?" Palmer says, as Meredith opens the door.

Suddenly, Meredith is conscious of the fact that she is in her scrubs and her hair is a mess.

"Hi Palmer. Izzy and I are roommates. Alex lives here too, but he's still working,"

"Oh. That's nice. Roommates. How does Karev do it?" Palmer smiles.

"Do what?" asks Meredith.

"Live with two such beautiful, intelligent women." Palmer replies.

Meredith giggles for a moment before there is an awkward pause. "Ummm…I'll go get Izzy."

As Izzy emerges from her room, Palmer breathes audibly. "Wow! You look stunning!"

"Thank you," Izzy replies suddenly shy.

There is an awkward silence, which Meredith breaks by saying, "Okay Palmer, now don't have her back too late. She has a 12am curfew, or else she turns into a pumpkin,"

Palmer laughs and says, "Don't worry…I'll take good care of your friend,"

_She is SO lucky! _Meredith thinks as she watches Izzy leave with Palmer.

Palmer pulls in front of a fancy Italian restaurant. Izzy says, "Wow. This is really nice. Thank you,"

Palmer says, "I only take beautiful girls to the nicest places."

As they are escorted to their table, Palmer says, "Do you want a glass of wine?"

"Sure. It's been a long week. I could use a drink to unwind," Izzy replies.

"Great! A bottle of your finest Pino Grigio," Palmer says to the waiter.

"So tell me more about Izzy Stevens," Palmer says.

"Not too much more to tell. Besides…I'm sure you've heard everything around the hospital. Rumors travel quickly. Gossip is always good conversation,"

Palmer laughs, "Yes. But it's a very unreliable source of information. Tell me about the REAL Izzy Stevens."

"Well, lets just say that it hasn't been my best year. After Denny, things sort of spiraled downward. I was suspended from the hospital, I wasn't working. It wasn't until last month that I was off probation, and I have been feeling a little better about things once I took the money he left me and opened the clinic. The clinic feels like my connection to him and so I…" Izzy stops.

"What?" Palmer says, pouring his second glass of wine.

"I'm sorry. This isn't really great date conversation. Just what I'm sure you wanted. A date with a girl who sits and talks about her dead fiancé…"

"So it is all true? Was Denny really your patient?" Palmer asks.

"No! I mean yes! I mean…sort of. I mean it started out that way, but I didn't see him that way. He was the love of my life…I mean….we were…" Izzy trails off as Palmer pours himself another glass of wine and motions to the waiter to bring another bottle.

"Woah! Sorry…I was getting a little heavy there. Tell me more about yourself…" Izzy says, realizing she is rambling and telling too much too soon.

"Not much to tell really. My story isn't as interesting. I was in New York, wanted a change and came to Seattle. That's really all there is to it." Palmer shrugs, pouring more wine.

Izzy notices that she is still on her first glass of wine. She says, "Hey, are you sure you shouldn't slow down on the wine?"

Palmer stiffens. "What are you? My mother?" he snaps, angrily.

Izzy is taken aback and recoils at his anger.

"No. I just thought…I mean….I'm sorry. I was just kidding," she says, trying to lighten the mood.

Palmer relaxes. "Me too. I'm sorry. You'll get used to my sense of humor. Let's order."


	2. Chapter 3

After dinner Izzy yawns and says, "Wow

After dinner Izzy yawns and says, "Wow! It's getting late. I can't believe I'm still awake. I've been on for 72 hours straight and I don't think I've been able to sleep more than three hours in a row!"

"Then we better get you home and into bed, young lady," Palmer says.

"We? Is this a group activity?" Izzy says flirtatiously?

"Well…I have the car keys and you have the bed!" Palmer quips back.

Palmer hands his credit card to the waiter, and pays the bill and drinks one more gulp of wine. Izzy notices that he is looking a bit unsteady as he gets up.

"Hey. Do you want me to drive home? I only had one glass," she asks.

"I can handle my liquor!" Palmer snaps.

Izzy is suddenly reminded of that awkward conversation during dinner in which Palmer's temper flared, and she takes a step back.

"I just thought…since you had so much to drink that maybe you'd want…"

"I didn't ask you to think, did I?" Palmer sneers, and suddenly seems almost like a different person.

"Palmer! I…We just had such a nice night! What's gotten into you?" Izzy asks, growing suddenly fearful.

"Nothing! Let's just go!" Palmer says angrily.

As the valet pulls the car up, Izzy tries one more time. "Palmer…I really think you should let me drive. This isn't safe,"

"Get in the car Izzy!" he says, forcefully.

Izzy pauses a moment before Palmer barks, "Now!"

Without another word, Izzy gets in, and fastens her seatbelt and remains silent. _It's close by…I'm sure we'll be okay._

Palmer is silent and his aura is hostile during their ride back to Izzy's. In an effort to distract herself from the awkward silence, she pulls out her cell phone and checks her text messages. She sees a message from George's cell phone sent about a half hour ago.

_At Joe's with Mer, Alex, Callie, Christina and Burke. Join us if you get home soon._

Izzy unintentionally smiles. Knowing her friends were thinking of her made her feel better about the fact that the evening had taken such a disastrous turn. Besides, there had been a lot of great moments too. It wasn't as though the whole evening had been awful. Everyone had their bad moments…didn't they?

"What? Smiling at your messages from your other boyfriends? I knew you were a slut. You told me you were trailer trash," Palmer slurs, taking his eyes off the road.

"Palmer! What is wrong with you? It was a message from George. Relax!" Izzy says as she closes her eyes. His swerving not only makes her nervous, she begins to feel a bit motion sick and knows that closing her eyes always helps.

She is startled by an unexpected sting on her left cheek. It takes her only a moment to realize that Palmer slapped her! Izzy is speechless and sits in silence holding her stinging cheek.

"Teach you to think about other guys when you're out with me," Palmer says under his breath.

"First of all, George is not my boyfriend. He's my best friend and he's married. Second of all, as far as I'm concerned, we've been out twice! The first and the last! I can't believe you just slapped me!" Izzy says.

Palmer is silent as they pull into her driveway. Izzy gathers her purse and out of nervousness she drops it and everything spills out all over the bottom of Palmer's car.

"Hey, Izzy. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I think you're right. I had way too much to drink. You're a great girl and you didn't deserve that. Here…let me help you," Palmer says, in a totally different tone.

Izzy looks at him. His eyes are soft again and he appears to be truly sorry. _Hey…everyone does stupid things when they are drunk. He seems sincerely sorry. I have to work with him…I might as well end the evening on a good note. Besides…most of the evening was really nice, until the very end._

"It's okay. I was probably being a little bit of a nag. Let's just put it all behind us. Why don't you come upstairs and have some coffee so you can sober up before you go home,"

Izzy says, forgivingly.

"Thanks. You're one of a kind Izzy Stevens," Palmer says, walking to the front door.

"So, how are the wedding plans going Preston? Christina hasn't really said much," Alex says with a smirk in Christina's direction.

"They are going wonderfully! We just decided on cream table clothes with a subtle sheer overlay with a golden hue," he says, politely.

"Meredith! My husband-to-be just said 'hue!' Does it get any more homosexual than that?" Christina whispers.

"We call them metrosexual now. It's okay, I'll let you know if I see him make a pass at George or Alex," Meredith replies.

"I wonder how's Izzy's date is going?" George says, prompting an eye roll from Callie.

"I'm so jealous. She is probably the luckiest girl on the planet right now," Meredith says.

"Yeah, not everyone gets to date the Golden Boy." Christina mumbles. "How many surgeries has that guy gotten in his first week at work? I mean doesn't anyone have to work for anything anymore?"

"Come on. You're just still mad about that heart-lung transplant which I told you…" Burke is cut off by Christina.

"I know. You had no control over. But I do get the next big one that comes up. Right?"

"You know what the deal was…" Burke teases.

"What's the deal?" Alex asks.

"I have to wear a blusher when I walk down the aisle." Christina sulks.

"Okay…you're right. It does border on gay," Meredith whispers to Christina.

"Next round's on me!" Callie says as she stands up and walks towards the bar.

As Izzy makes coffee, she and Palmer make pleasant small talk about the hospital. She has almost forgotten their disastrous car ride home and is beginning to relax.

"So, I never got a tour of the house," Palmer says.

"Oh, there isn't much to see. This is the kitchen, there's the very informal living room. Meredith's room is over there, Alex's room is across the hall and my room is right there," she says, pointing to the door on the right.

"Come on," he pleads, "Don't I get to see how gorgeous doctors decorate?"

"Sure. But only if you leave your coffee here, I'm sort of crazy about people eating and drinking in my room. I guess I'm kind of a neat freak," Izzy confesses.

"So am I. I hate when people make a mess in my space. That's why I was never good at desk jobs. If someone moved my stapler, I'd go berserk!" Palmer laughs.

As she opens the door to her room, Palmer says, "Very nice. It's feminine. Just what I would expect from you." He pauses a moment. "I'm dying to kiss you, Izzy Stevens," he says.

"Well…what's stopping you," she says.

"Nothing, now that I know you won't turn me away," Palmer says, charmingly.

As they sit down on the bed, Palmer kisses her, first lightly, and then more and more passionately. He pins her hands down on the bed and says, "I knew since I laid eyes on you that I couldn't wait for this moment." He undresses her tenderly so that she is only wearing her bra and her underwear and begins to kiss her lightly on her neck.

Izzy allows herself to get lost in the moment. Palmer is the first man she has kissed since Denny, and allowing herself to feel desirable to a man again feels good for a moment, yet at the same time, she is nervous.

"Slow down Palmer…please," she whispers, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

"Don't worry…let me make you feel good," he says.

"No…really…I'm not ready…It's only been a few months since Denny, and I…" Izzy struggles under Palmer's weight and tries to sit up. He pushes her back down.

"Don't be a tease, Izzy Stevens. You're the one who brought me into your bedroom," Palmer chastises her.

Izzy starts to panic. She can't get free. He has her arms pinned over her head and he is sitting on her legs.

"Palmer. I mean it. Stop it! Get off of me!" Izzy yells, willing Meredith and Alex to come home. She bites his shoulder, hard, trying to get him to let go of her.

Palmer is unfazed. "I see! So you like it rough. Okay…I'll play your way. So, you're a naughty girl. You know what we do with naughty girls, don't you? We need to teach them a lesson." Palmer says with a sneering smile as he holds her tiny wrists in one large hand and ties them with her own shirt to her headboard.

Izzy kicks her legs wildly in a panic. She feels the circulation constricted on her wrists and starts to yell, "My roommates will be home any minute. You better let go of me. This isn't funny. Stop it Palmer. No!! Don't touch me!!"

Palmer remains calm as though he is perfectly used to this kind of encounter. "We can do this the nice way, or we can do it the hard way…your choice Izzy Stevens," he says in a sing-song tone as though he were playing with a child.

He takes his belt and pants off and says sternly, "Stop it!"

When Izzy continues to fight, he hits her hard across her stomach with his leather belt. The shock of the pain momentarily silences her, and he says, "Much better. That's my girl."

Izzy begins to sob quietly as she knows what is about to happen. As he pries her legs open and enters her, she closes her eyes and tries to be anywhere else. When he is finished, he says calmly, "Remember Izzy…you want to always be nice to me. We're going to see each other every single day at work, and I have a very good reputation with the chief."

"I'll tell him what you did!" Izzy says venomously.

Palmer hits her again with his belt, this time even harder. Izzy feels her skin tear but Palmer doesn't stop. He appears to have lost all control. Izzy feels herself grow dizzy with pain but she struggles to stay conscious. Eventually she loses the battle. When she does, Palmer zips up his pants, puts on his belt and sneaks out quietly.


	3. Chapter 4

Meredith stumbles up the stairs clumsily and says, "I swear Alex

Meredith stumbles up the stairs clumsily and says, "I swear Alex! I'm never drinking again!"

"Shhhh…Izzy's probably sleeping," Alex says and then adds, "Good thing you're off tomorrow."

"Izzy's off tomorrow too! I'm going to wake her up and see how her date was," Meredith says, excitedly.

"Don't wake her. Intern sleep is precious," Alex says tiredly. "I'm going to bed. You should too. You're going to have a nasty hangover!"

Alex goes into his room and Meredith tiptoes to Izzy's room. "Izzy! Wake up!" she whispers, knocking quietly on the door. "Iz! I want to hear all about Palmer,"

When there is no answer, Meredith opens the door a crack. She sees that the light is on.

She opens the door and gasps! "Oh my god! Izzy! What happened?"

She looks at Izzy, lying there naked, passed out with blood crusted on her abdomen, and she freezes for a moment. _Think like a doctor Meredith, _she reminds herself.

But before she can think like a doctor, she thinks like a friend, and unties her arms and covers Izzy with a blanket, so no one will ever see what she just saw. She sits on the bed and strokes Izzy's hair. "Iz, come on…wake up. Tell me what happened. Who did this to you?" She takes Izzy's hand and waits for an answer.

Izzy moans softly but doesn't speak.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you help. Everything's going to be okay," Izzy says.

Izzy grips Meredith's hand as if to say, _Don't leave me._

"I'm just going to get Alex to help me get you up and to the hospital. You need to be checked out,"

Izzy moans again, something that sounds like "Nooooooooooo."

"Alex!" Meredith calls loudly.

"Sleeping…Intern sleep is precious…remember?" Alex calls back, tiredly.

"Alex it's Izzy! Come quick! She's hurt!"

Alex shoots out of bed and runs to Izzy's room. Seeing the blood on the blankets he says, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. But we've got to get her to the hospital!"

Alex picks Izzy up as she winces in pain. Meredith holds her hand and tries to reassure her. Izzy is becoming more alert now and it is obvious she is protesting the idea of going to Seattle Grace.

"Come on Iz. No one is going to put you to work. We just want someone to look at you and make sure that you are okay."

Alex drives and Meredith sits with Izzy in the back.

"Don't….let….him…." Izzy begins softly.

"Don't let who?" Meredith asks.

"Izzy…did Palmer do this to you?" Alex says directly.

Izzy begins to sob quietly.

When they arrive at Seattle Grace Hospital, Alex runs and gets a wheelchair and brings it to the car. The next few moments are a blur as Meredith wheels Izzy into the ER where Dr. Bailey sees her and says, "What the hell happened here?"

"I don't know! I came home and found her in bed, bleeding, naked and unconscious. She's conscious now, but I think she was…" Meredith's voice trails off when she sees George running toward her.

"Okay Izzy, I'm here now," George says.

"O'Malley, get out of my way! I need to examine your friend and I need to do it in private. Get back to where you belong and I'll call you when I have any news," Dr. Bailey says firmly.

George is startled by Izzy's condition, and jumps back at Miranda's harsh words. When he regains his composure, he says, "Please…call me immediately when you know anything."

Dr. Bailey nods and begins to wheel Izzy to an exam room. "Grey! Get moving. You're coming with me! Someone needs to hold her hand through this next part."

Meredith hurries along side the wheelchair and tries to reassure Izzy, while all of the questions she has flood her mind. _Who could have done this? What really happened? Could this really have been Palmer's doing?_

Callie runs to George and says, "I heard about Izzy. How is she doing?"

"I don't know. No one knows anything yet. But I saw her…she was bleeding…and I heard she was…"

Callie nods understandingly as Christina comes running over. "Okay! I just gave up a surgery for this, so she better be in bad shape. Where's Izzy?"

"Bailey took her to an exam room. Meredith went with her." George says.

"Well, what are we waiting for…let's go wait outside the door," Christina says.

Callie puts her arm around her husband as the three of them head towards Izzy's room to sit outside on the floor and wait.

By now, Izzy is fully alert. She remembers everything. The dinner, the fight, the coffee, the kiss and finally, the violence and violation. She shudders at the memory.

"Iz…can you talk to me?" Meredith says, timidly.

"Later Grey. I need to get some evidence, and I need you not to upset her any further. I need to run a rape kit. Normally Addison does this with me, but she's off tonight. You're all I got. Just keep her calm,"

"Can I at least put a gown on her?" Meredith says, looking at the blood soaked blanket that her friend is draped in.

"Now you're talking," Dr. Bailey says. Anger seethes through every pore of her body as she helps Meredith peel the bloody blanket off her young intern.

Izzy closes her eyes as Dr. Bailey and Meredith expose her flesh and place her arms in the gown.

"Izzy. I'm going to do a rape kit on you. I need to obtain evidence since there is evidence of a sexual assault,"

Izzy laughs silently at the irony. Just three days ago, she had done her first rape kit with Addison on a teenage girl who had gotten drunk at a party and been taken advantage of by a bunch of drunk football players. Izzy had held the girls hand as Addison collected the evidence. The irony of a rape kit has not been lost on Izzy at the time and it was certainly not lost on her now. The fact that a victim who has so recently been violated has to be violated a second time in twenty-four hours seems almost inhuman, however she didn't have the energy to fight.

Bailey begins by examining Izzy's wounds externally. "Multiple contusions and lacerations. Looks like some monster really did a number on her. Look at these welts," Bailey says, angrily.

Dr. Bailey makes a few notes in her chart and says, "Izzy, now I am going to examine you internally. I know this isn't easy for you right now, but the sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can get you all stitched up. Dr. Grey, you stay there with her and let her crush your hand if she needs to. I'm going to be as quick as I can be."

"Izzy…give me your hand. You heard Dr. Bailey. You squeeze as hard as you want to," Meredith says, looking straight into her friend's eyes.

Izzy avoids her stare, but accepts the offer of her hand.

"Izzy…I'm going to place the speculum inside of you now. This may feel a little cold," Dr. Bailey begins.

As the cold metal enters Izzy's body, Izzy stares at the ceiling blankly. Tears stream down her face but she refuses to acknowledge them. The only evidence that she is still aware of what is happening is the fact that her nails are digging into Meredith's flesh.

Meredith squeezes Izzy's hand and alternates between wiping the tears off of Izzy's face and wiping the tears off her own cheeks. When she looks at Dr. Bailey, she notices a tear falling down her left cheek.

"When I find the bastard who did this to her, I'm going to kill them. I'm going to take a goddamn scalpel and cut them limb from limb and them…" George says venomously.

"Come on George. You may never find out who did this. Concentrate on what you can control which is being there for Izzy, and leave the detective work for the police," says Callie.

George leans his head on his wife's shoulder. _Callie's come a long way, _he thinks. _A few months ago, she would have never been able to utter the words "be there for Izzy" without gagging._

Alex comes running over followed by Mark. "How's she doing?" Alex asks George.

"I don't know…They're still in there," George says.

"That goddamn bastard, Palmer! When I get my hands on him…" Alex starts.

"You really think Palmer did this?" Mark asks.

"She left with Palmer and came home like this! It doesn't take a genius…" Alex spits.

"I never liked him," Christina shrugs.

"You don't like anyone," Mark retorts.

"One way or another, we have to find out if he did this. If he did…" Alex says.

"And if he didn't?" Mark says.

"We need to find out," George says, standing up.

**I am so sorry for the lapse between updates. It's been a particularly busy work season for me. I am also pregnant with twins and haven't been feeling so hot. I'm feeling much better now and promise to update regularly if you'll all review!! **

**Thanks! You're the best!**


	4. Chapter 5

Dr

Dr. Bailey emerges from behind the closed doors. George, Callie, Christina, Alex and Mark stand up.

"She's okay physically." Dr. Bailey says, before they can speak, "But if I ever get my hands on the guy that did this to her, so help me god, he's gonna pay in ways he can't even imagine!"

"Does she mean she'll cut it off?" Christina whispers to Callie who suppresses a smile.

"Can I go in?" George asks.

Dr. Bailey shakes her head. "No O'Malley. She doesn't want to see anyone right now. We're going to let her lie down for a bit and then we'll send her home. I assume Dr. Grey will be taking her home and you can all go see her there."

"But…" George begins to protest.

"O'Malley, get back to work. I've already had a bad day," Dr. Bailey snaps.

Everyone stands frozen for a minute, before Alex says, "Does anyone know where Palmer is? I'm going to find him and ask him what the hell happened on their so-called date," he fumes.

"He's off until tomorrow," Callie says calmly.

"Then he better get a good night's sleep tonight, because tomorrow's gonna be the worst day of his life!" says Alex.

Meredith taps her foot nervously. Izzy still has her hand in a tight hold, but has not met her eye or uttered so much as a sound since Bailey had left. She glances at her watch. They have sat in silence for almost twenty-minutes.

"Iz? I feel like I should be saying something to help you, but I don't know what to say. Is there anything I can do, or say or…"

Izzy laughs almost hysterically. Meredith waits for almost a minute until Izzy catches her breath.

Meredith waits for her to speak, but Izzy doesn't. She is silent again.

"Iz? None of this was your fault. What happened to you, it wasn't your fault." Meredith says, knowing even as the words leave her lips, how trite they sound.

"How do you know? How do you know that it wasn't my fault. You weren't there. You don't know what happened," Izzy challenges, pulling her hand away.

Meredith is startled by Izzy's sudden recoiling of her hand. She reaches for it again as though if she relinquishes physical contact, she will lose Izzy forever, but Izzy pulls away.

"Just go Meredith. I'm fine," Izzy says, coldly.

"Bailey told me to stay here and when you were ready to take you home. Bailey's wrath is a lot scarier than yours. I'm not brave enough to leave," Meredith says with a falsely bright smile.

"I want to be alone. I'm not going to talk to you, I'm not even going to look at you, so go. Just leave me alone," Izzy says.

Meredith sits down, feeling defeated, in the chair next to Izzy's bed. Izzy continues to stare silently at the ceiling. Meredith reaches her hand out and tentatively touches Izzy's hair. She waits for Izzy to jerk away. When Izzy doesn't move, Meredith strokes Izzy's head, maternally, and murmers, "You're going to be okay," over and over again. Izzy begins to sob quietly.

"Stop being nice to me," Izzy says flatly.

Meredith is so grateful for the fact that Izzy has spoken to her that she smiles despite Izzy's words.

"I can't help being nice to you. You're the nicest person that I know. Usually its actually a little nauseating, but you actually bring out the rare nice side of me," Meredith says, as she hears the door open a crack.

"Mer?" she hears Christina whisper.

Meredith is relieved to hear Christina's voice. She feels like she is completely out of her league and relishes the chance to share the burden with Christina. She motions behind Izzy's back for Christina to come in.

"I'm coming in, but I don't do sappy and comforting," Christina says.

Izzy doesn't react one way or another, so Meredith moves to the edge of Izzy's bed and takes her hand again and gives Christina her chair.

"I'm off the rest of the day," Christina complains. "I'm bored already. After you came in, Izzy, the hospital's been so quiet all day I've been begging to stitch someone up or something. The highlight of my day was a boring double bypass. Come on! Challenge me!"

"The highlight of my day was getting raped for the second time by Bailey's metal speculum," Izzy replies.

Both Meredith and Christina sit awkwardly, not knowing whether to laugh or not. In the end, they both let out a half giggle that sounds forced and unnatural.

"So what the hell happened to you?" Christina asks.

"Christina! She doesn't want to…" Meredith warns.

"How do you know what I want?" Izzy shoots back at her.

A stunned Meredith drops Izzy's hand and blinks back hurt tears at the harshness of Izzy's tone.

"Palmer picked me up at the house. I was so excited, and nervous because, you know…it was my first date since Denny," Izzy begins.

Christina and Meredith nod silently.

"I was all dressed up, and he kept complimenting me, telling me how beautiful I was, he was so sweet and charming and everything seemed perfect," Izzy begins in a detached tone.

"He always seems charming. That's what makes me vomit in my mouth a little every time he walks in a room," Christina says.

"Dinner was really nice, except that he drank so much, and every time I would ask him if he had too much, he would get angry. Then he started to get crazy. Like he thought I was getting text messages from other guys, when it was just a message from all of you saying you were at Joe's," Izzy continues as though she's telling a story about someone else.

Meredith is still scared to speak for fear of evoking Izzy's anger again, but it seems to be gone. She seems far away and completely calm. In some ways, Meredith almost preferred the anger. This was eerie.

"I knew it. The guy's a total psycho," Christina mumbles under her breath.

"Then, he apologized. I invited him in for coffee. We were having a nice time. I was attracted to him. I invited him into my bedroom, and he started kissing me. Then things got out of control. Somewhere along the lines, he was hurting me, so I told him to stop, but he wouldn't…and then…things got a little rough."

Both Meredith and Christina are hanging on Izzy's words and staring at her so intently that neither one of them has noticed that Addison has walked into the room. Addison makes her presence known when she closes the door a little too loudly.

"Izzy. Are you okay?" she asks gently.

"I'm fine. Why is everyone acting like I have a terminal disease? I had a little rough sex last night. Does everyone at the hospital have to know about it?" she retorts.

Addison lifts up Izzy's hospital gown and touches the welts on her stomach and legs which are still swollen and raw. "Rough sex? Is that what you call this? Your were raped, Izzy. You can call it whatever you want, but that doesn't change what it is. Did you tell him to stop?" Addison asks.

"Not until things were already out of hand," Izzy says.

"I don't care if it was hours after things got 'out of hand.' Once you say 'no' and he penetrates you anyway, that is rape, so I don't ever want to hear you call it 'rough sex' again." Addison says, firmly.

Meredith and Christina are grateful for Addison's presence and for the way she took charge of the conversation. Both of them were at a loss for words and Addison seemed so sure of herself.

"I'm so tired. Can I go home now, Dr. Montgomery?" Izzy asks coldly.

"You can go home anytime you want, Izzy. But I want you to take a few phone numbers with you," Addison hands her a sheet of paper. "These are of rape hotlines and rape crisis centers in the area. There are a lot of people who…"

Izzy cuts her off. "Thanks Addison, but I wasn't raped. Things got a little out of control, but I am fine now, don't worry." Izzy says with a smile.

Addison whispers, "Take her home, Mer. But don't leave her alone,"

Meredith nods and although nervous that she will say or do the wrong thing, begins to gather Izzy's personal belongings.

"Christina, grab a set of scrubs off that shelf. She doesn't have any clothes here," Meredith says.

For once, Christina doesn't have a quick answer. She just grabs a pair of scrubs and hands them to Meredith and quietly leaves the room.

Izzy flinches in pain as her bruised and welted body shifts positions in an attempt to stand up. "Do you need help?" Meredith asks?

"No. I'm fine," Izzy replies.

Meredith waits another moment as Izzy struggles, before she pulls Izzy to her feet.

Izzy wobbles a little once she is finally upright. As she starts to fall forward, Meredith catches her. The two friends face each other, and after an emotional day, Izzy finally looks at her friend.

"Thank you," she says simply.

"You're welcome," Meredith says, as she chokes back her own tears.


	5. Chapter 6

Meredith opens the door with one hand as she tries to help Izzy enter the house that they share with Alex

Meredith opens the door with one hand as she tries to help Izzy enter the house that they share with Alex. She had looked at moving back to the house as a step backwards after she and Derek broke up, but right now, she welcomes the comfort of the place she now calls home.

"So what do you want to do? Do you want me to help you get into bed?"

Izzy shakes her head. "I just want to take a long hot bath and forget that today ever happened."

"Sounds good. Why don't I make something for dinner?" Meredith says.

"Because as bad as my day has been I'm still not suicidal. Let's just order a pizza. Order some for Alex too. I don't think he's working tonight," Izzy replies.

Meredith smiles, grateful that Izzy's sense of humor has returned. She sits down at the kitchen table and puts her head in her hands. She is exhausted and is glad for the down time to just relax. It is the first time since she and Derek broke up that she hasn't been surrounded by people and immersed in work, and she actually enjoys the moment of quiet.

The phone rings, and Meredith is jolted out of her relaxed state.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Hi Mer, it's me. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll be home at around ten tonight, so don't wait for me for dinner," Alex replies.

"I thought you got off at six today?" Meredith inquires.

"I do, but George and I have a few things to take care of after work. How's Izzy?" Alex asks, changing the subject.

"I don't know. She seems a little better. I mean, she's still up and down, but she seems to be doing better than she was. She even smiled before," Meredith says.

"Good. Glad to hear it. I'll see you tonight," Alex replies.

Meredith lays down on the couch and falls asleep.

"Meet me at my car when you get off, then we'll go," Alex says to George.

"Where are you going?" Callie asks.

"To find out what happened between Izzy and Palmer," George tells her.

Alex glares at him. "Good job O'Malley! Tell the whole world! By the time it gets back to him, we'll really have the surprise element to our advantage!"

"I didn't tell the world. I told my wife." George retorts.

"Oh, don't think you're leaving me out of this one! I'll be there!" Callie adds.

"Great! Let's bring the whole world," Alex says rolling his eyes.

Just then, Mark arrives. "Bring the whole world where?"

"To Palmer Talbot's house to get some serious answers," Alex replies.

"Oh, so you can tell him, but I can't tell my wife?" George fires at Alex.

"Well, he might be useful if it gets ugly. Now we have to worry about this psycho hurting your wife," Alex responds.

"Thanks for the concern Alex, but if things get ugly, I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl," Callie says, sarcastically.

"Count me in," says Mark.

"What are you all doing? Am I the only one who works anymore?" Christina asks.

They all look at each other.

"We're going to Palmer Talbot's house after work to get some answers. Want to join us?" Callie says, smiling sweetly at Alex.

"As tempting as the thought of watching you all tear him limb from limb sounds, I'm working a double. Let me know how it goes though," Christina says as she walks away.

"Anyone else you guys want to invite?" Alex asks.

"See you guys at six," Callie says, walking away.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that bastard," Alex says.

"Me too," says George.

"See you at six." Mark says.

Meredith wakes up with a jolt when the phone rings.

"Hi Mer. It's me." the voice on the other line says.

She immediately recognizes the voice as Derek's voice. "Hi Derek," she says, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

"Listen, I heard about Izzy. I just wanted to see how she's doing," Derek asks.

"She's doing okay." Meredith says neutrally. _Actually, come to think of it, I haven't seen her since she went into the bath tub over an hour ago! _

"And how are you doing?" he asks.

"You know what Derek. I have to go. I have to check on Izzy," Meredith replies, growing more nervous.

"Fine Meredith. Do what you do best. Shut me out and go to your friends. Call me if you need me," Derek sighs.

"Derek! Not everything is about you…I…" but it's too late. Derek has already hung up.

Meredith runs to the bathroom and knocks on the door.

"Izzy! Are you still in there?"

Meredith receives no response so she grasps the doorknob, silently praying that it isn't locked. It turns easily and she sighs in relief. She opens the door slowly and recoils for a moment when she sees Izzy clawing at her wounds with her nails.

"Izzy! Stop it! You're hurting yourself!" Meredith gasps.

"I hate him! I just want the mark of him off of me!" Izzy yells.

Meredith grabs at Izzy's hands and pulls the plug on bathtub. Izzy fights her for a moment and then sits quietly sobbing. Meredith lets go of her arms. She grabs a large towel off the rack and her heart silently breaks for her friend.

"You don't deserve this Iz. This shouldn't have happened," Meredith says softly, as she wraps a towel around her friend and helps her out of the tub.

Izzy looks away from Meredith and says, almost inaudibly, "Yes…I do. This is what happens to trailer trash."

Meredith pulls Izzy into a tight embrace and says, "YOU are NOT trash. You are the furthest thing from trash I have ever met. Don't EVER forget that!"

George, Callie, and Mark meet at Alex's car at six o' clock. Alex is already sitting in the driver's seat and is tapping his foot in anticipation.

"When we get there, let me ask the questions," Alex says, taking charge.

"Why do you ask the questions? I have some questions for the creep myself!" George says.

"Because this was my idea and I don't want you to wet your pants if things get nasty, Bambi!" Alex replies.

"Why don't all of you watch and observe. When I'm finished with him, he'll be in need of my plastics work," Mark says.

"Please. You couldn't go three rounds with Meredith without taking steroids," Callie says, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, has anyone thought of the fact that if Palmer really did hurt Izzy, he must know that we know by now. The chances of him letting us in are pretty slim."

"Then we'll break the damn door down!" Mark says, angrily.

Everyone is silent, as they realize that Callie has a point.

"This is it," says Alex, ask they pull up to a large condominium and see lights on in the windows. It looks as though Palmer must be home.

Everyone gets out of the car, and suddenly seems to have forgotten about their bickering. Alex and Mark walk up to the door, followed by the Callie and George, who are holding hands. Alex rings the doorbell.

"Wow! This is a surprise!" says Palmer pleasantly as he opens the door.

"Umm…hi," says Alex, suddenly speechless.

"Please, come in. Have a seat. Can I get you all anything?" Palmer asks pleasantly.

"No, thank you," George says, as the others mumble in agreement.

Everyone sits down as they notice the incredibly immaculate and impeccably decorated condo.

"Listen, this is somewhat awkward…I assume you're here to talk about Dr. Stevens." Palmer begins.

The four of them look at each other in amazement. Was he going to come out and admit everything?

"Yeah. We're here to talk about Izzy. Do you have something to say?" Mark sneers.

Callie gives him a look and kicks him. "Don't piss him off. We want to hear what he's going to say," she whispers to Mark.

Taking his wife's cue, George says, "Yes. We were all a bit concerned. We'd like to hear what you have to say about the ummm…incident."

"I'm really glad you all stopped by. I wanted to talk to Izzy's friends about the whole thing, but I felt like I was overstepping boundries and invading her privacy by doing so. However, now that I know that she talked to you about the whole situation, I feel like its not unethical of me to discuss it with you," Palmer explains calmly.

The four of them look at each other completely confused. "What happened on Saturday?" Alex asks.

Palmer takes a deep breath. "I'm sure you can all appreciate how difficult this is for me to discuss. Some of it is rather…personal. Again, I feel very uncomfortable sharing Dr. Steven's personal business this way, but under the circumstances…well…I suppose it's acceptable."

Callie laughs amicably. "Oh, please! Izzy already told me everything. You know how girls are! We don't keep any secrets from each other." Callie says, as George smile.

"Yup! You girls are just on the phone all night!" George chimes in. Callie kicks him. _One sentence too many, _she thinks.

Palmer smiles at them. "Yes. I supposed girls do share more than we men do under most circumstances. Well, as I was saying, the night started out wonderfully. We had a really nice dinner, and Dr. Stevens and I shared quite a big about our past relationships. She talked quite a bit about the patient she was engaged to. I believe Denny was his name?"

The four of them nod and urge him to go on.

"Then we talked about our upbringing. I shared quite a bit with her about my experiences at boarding school. Not all positive, of course. And she shared with me quite a bit about her experiences growing up in a very rural, and uneducated community. I suppose the conversation was a bit of a downer, and she kept referring to herself as having grown up as 'trailer trash.' I was a big surprised that she referred to herself in such a manner, but it almost seemed to be in a positive, 'look how far I've come,' sort of way, so I didn't think much of it." Palmer pauses and studies their reactions.

"Yeah. That sounds like Izzy. Always positive!" Callie says brightly and cheerfully, with a big, fake smile.

Palmer smiles back, "Yes. That was my impression as well. As dinner and dessert were finished, I felt we had enjoyed each other's company very much. I admit I was quite enamored with her, and I was interested in seeing her again, however, it was late, and we had both worked all day and we were exhausted. I offered to drive her home, especially since she had quite a bit to drink at dinner and I didn't feel comfortable sending her home in a taxi. She was definitely showing signs of intoxication," Palmer explains.

All four of Izzy's friends nod in encouragement, urging him to continue.

"So she accepted my offer of a ride home, and all of a sudden, she starts talking a mile a minute about how this was her first date since Denny and she's surprised she had such a nice time. I was pleased that she had enjoyed my company as much as I had enjoyed hers. I complimented her on getting back out there and dating again. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for her to lose Denny, especially under the circumstances."

"It was," says George.

"I can only imagine. She's lucky she had friends like you who were there for her. She told me how wonderful all of you were in getting her to come back to the hospital, and to cash the check, and eventually supporting her in her decision to open the clinic. She is quite a woman!" Palmer says.

"Yes. She is," says Alex.

"That's why it was such a surprise when everything went badly once we got back to her house," Palmer continues.

"What happened?" asks Mark.

"Well, this is the awkward part. And please, don't think less of me for how I handled it. I'm not proud for running out on her the way I did, but quite honestly, I didn't know what she was going to do," Palmer says.

"Listen Palmer, nothing you're going to say is going to make us think less of you," Callie reassures him while thinking, _We came in here thinking you were the scum of the earth already._

"Thank you, Dr. O' Malley," Palmer says, as he continues. "So she invited me back to her apartment. I was attracted to her and so I joined her upstairs for what she said would be a cup of coffee. One thing led to another and she brought me to her bedroom. I was more than willing, I admit. Well, she started telling me that she ummm…how do I say this eloquently…well…she liked it rough. I admit that at first I was intrigued. She asked me to tie her up, so I did. It was certainly a little different, but not so far-fetched that I thought anything of it. But then, all of a sudden, things got really strange."

"Strange, how?" asked Alex.

"She kept begging me to beat her. She said it turned her on. I played along half-heartedly, but I was worried that I would hurt her, and I saw that I was leaving marks on her. I told her I wasn't comfortable with this type of ummm…activity. I tried to be sensitive, and I was stroking her beautiful face, and telling her that I didn't want to hurt her. We did have intercourse at that time…and that's when it happened," Palmer pauses, dramatically.

"What happened?" George asks.

"She went ballistic. She started screaming at me and trying to bite me. She was screaming things like, 'Don't be nice to me! I killed Denny! He'd be alive if it weren't for me. I murdered my fiancé! I deserve to be beaten!' She was screaming about how she was from trash, she deserved to be treated like trash, and she was completely out of control. I backed away from the bed, because the nicer I was to her, the more out of control she got. In retrospect, I should have called an ambulance and had her brought to a psychiatric facility, but I wasn't thinking clearly. Call it lack of sleep, or just shock, but I ran out. Not the most noble of moves…I know. As I said, I'm not proud of it, but at least she was safer with her arms tied up, so she couldn't hurt herself," Palmer finishes with a deep breath. "Please excuse me for a moment. I just need some water. Can I get anyone anything?"

All four of them shake their heads silently. They stare at each other, paralyzed. As he leaves the room, Alex is the first to speak.

"You know, maybe none of us knew how much Denny's death affected her. His story makes sense," Alex says.

"We all thought that because she was back at work, she was fine. But maybe she's not. Maybe she needs more help than we thought," George says.

"And then there was our marriage. I know how hard that was for her," Callie says.

"I don't know. What if he's lying?" Mark asks.

"Come on Sloan. The guy practically begged us to ask about that night, do you think if he was some psychotic sexual deviant, he'd voluntarily invite us in and tell us about it? He was pretty straightforward. I don't think the world of him for leaving her there and not calling anyone, but he knew her roommates would come home soon and probably take care of things." Alex replies.

Their conversation is cut off by Palmer's return to the living room. "I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted to ingratiate myself to Seattle Grace Hospital. I should know not to date where I work." Palmer says.

"Hey…things happen. No hard feelings man." Alex says, extending his hand for Palmer to shake.

Callie does the same and soon, George, and then Mark each shake Palmer's hand.

"Thank you for your understanding. Dr. Stevens did paint a wonderful picture of the type of people you are. I hope we can keep this matter discreet, and not let it get out to any higher-ups. I would hate to tarnish her professional image. I just hope she gets the help that she needs," Palmer says.

All of them murmur in agreement and then say their goodbyes. As they get in the car, George is the first to speak.

"So, do we tell Bailey?"

"I don't think so. No one, including Bailey, or Izzy has told us anything yet. Why should we be spreading gossip around the hospital?" Callie replies.

"But don't we owe it to this poor guy to clear his name?" Alex says.

"How about we talk to Izzy," says Mark.

Everyone silently nods in agreement.


	6. Chapter 7

Christina opens the door to Meredith, Izzy and Alex's apartment.

"Mer? I'm here!" she says.

Meredith runs downstairs breathless with her hair still wet.

"Thanks for coming. I just don't want to leave her alone. She's really unpredictable right now, and I just think someone should be here, just in case," Meredith explains, grateful that Christina is taking her one day off to watch over Izzy in her absence.

"No problem. The alternative is to tie ribbons on programs. I swear, if he doesn't watch it, I'm going to make him wear the dress!" Christina says.

"He'd probably enjoy it," Meredith quips back.

Ready Mer? We gotta get going," Alex calls from the door.

"I gotta run. Page me if you need me," Meredith says, realizing how nervous she is to leave Izzy for the day, yet knowing that she has to work.

In the car, Alex says to Meredith, "So, how's Izzy doing?"

"Well, as well as can be expected I guess. She's up and down a lot. I just can't believe this happened to her. Izzy of all people…I mean, Izzy wouldn't hurt a fly. She wouldn't hurt a hornet as it was stinging her come to think of it," Meredith thinks out loud.

"Yeah…but…" Alex says.

"But what?" Meredith asks somewhat defensively.

"Mer, a few of us went to see Palmer last night. The rumor around the hospital was that he raped her, and George, Callie, Mark and I went to go give him hell for it. But when we got there, he told us his side which really made sense," Alex says.

"What do you mean, HIS side? Rapists don't get a side, especially when they rape one of our supposed best friends. Are you implying that Izzy made this up? You didn't see her? You didn't see her the way I found her. You didn't see her last night in the bathtub. You didn't see her shaking and crying as she begged me to sleep in my bed last night because she couldn't face her bedroom because that was where it all happened. How dare you? The worst part is that SHE isn't calling it rape. She's blaming herself." Meredith says, glaring at him.

Alex sighs. "I'm not at all saying she made it up. I'm saying that Izzy's had a rough couple of months. She's not feeling great about herself right now, and sometimes not everything is the way it seems."

"Tell me what he told you, Alex, but remember…I know where my loyalty lies." Meredith says.

Alex begins to tell her the story he heard at Palmer's the previous night.

"Izzy? Can you look at these pictures of flowers and pick one? I think I'm supposed to care what sits in the middle of all the wedding tables or something?" Christina says, as Izzy comes downstairs in her robe, looking like she hasn't slept all night.

"Oh. Are you the babysitter today? Can you at least wait until I've had my coffee?" Izzy snaps.

"Okay. Good. Meredith made it sound like you'd be all sad and weepy. Angry I can handle. When you're done with your coffee, the pictures are here. Find me some flowers," Christina replies walking towards the den.

Izzy makes herself a cup of coffee and sits down at the table. She picks up the pictures that Christina has left on the table and begins to flip through them, silently grateful for the distraction.

Mark sees George dart by him in the hallway of the hospital.

"O'Malley!" he calls out.

"What?" George says, rushing to bring some tests to the lab which he knows Dr. Bailey does not want to wait for.

Mark lowers his voice and pulls George aside.

"Listen, we've gotta talk to Izzy. We've got to find out what happened. I have a little break in the middle of the day, and I was thinking, maybe we'd go over there around lunch time and see if we could talk to her about what happened, you know…hear her side of it," Mark says.

"Sounds good. I have a light afternoon. So does Alex. If you see Callie, can you ask her if she wants to come?"

Mark nods. "Meet me in the cafeteria at around 1:30,"

George nods in return and hurries off to get his work done quickly so he can take a break later in the day.

Meredith listens to Alex without saying a word. When he finishes, she says, "Alex, that man is charming, he's gorgeous and he's obviously a pathological liar. I know what I saw that night, and I did not see Izzy having a mental breakdown. I saw Izzy suffering the aftermath of being traumatically assaulted. Like I said, she doesn't see it that way, but I do. I will not mention one word of this to her, not out of respect to you, George or any of Izzy's other 'supposed friends,' but out of respect for the friendships that Izzy may think she has."

"Mer, you've certainly been a great friend to Izzy. No one is denying that. No one is even denying that Izzy is traumatized by whatever happened this night. But don't you think it's possible that Izzy was traumatized by something that was triggered within herself? Something that is a reaction to all that she's been through over the last year?" Alex asks.

"You're right, Izzy has been through hell this past year. But she's rallied back. She's dragged herself up from the bathroom floor in her ridiculous dress and has come back to the hospital as a competent doctor. She's worked hard to get herself to where she is, and to use the fact that she's lost someone she loved as a reason to discount her credibility is just wrong and disloyal," Meredith fires.

"Loyalty can be well founded, or it can be blind." Alex says

"So did you pick my centerpieces?" Christina asks, reentering the kitchen.

"I like light pink for the bridesmaids bouquet, with deep red for your bouquet. For the centerpieces, I like a combination of the two roses with tall calla lilies and beautiful gerber daisies. It gives a soft look, yet still allows for enough color to keep the room interesting," Izzy says.

"Wow! Thanks. You saved me the time going through all of those awful bridal magazines," Christina says.

"No problem. I would have given my right arm to have had the chance to go through bridal magazines and pick out flowers," Izzy replies, matter of factly.

Christina stammers uncharacteristically for a moment, as she realizes her insensitivity. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that you…"

Izzy cuts her off, "No! It's fine. I didn't mean anything by that. I'm so happy for you!" she says with a forced smile.

Christina recovers seamlessly and says, "Look, you know I don't do touchy-feely. Let's change the subject away from anything that involves long white dresses and bright colored flowers."

Izzy sighs. "Fine. But trust me on the flowers. It will be perfect,"

"Whatever," says Christina. "So what do you want to do? Meredith said I can't leave you alone for too long. She's all freaked out. I think she thinks you might try to off yourself of something."

Izzy rolls her eyes. "I'm fine. I had a crappy week and it's over. That's it. No more to the story.

"Crappy week? That's the understatement of the year!" Christina snorts.

"Look…I made some bad choices and I paid for them. Unfortunately, everyone at the hospital knows about it now. I'm so embarrassed. I can't even imagine facing anyone there again!" Izzy thinks outloud.

"Your only bad choice was agreeing to go out with that scumbag! He's so oily. Even his formal speech… 'It is such a pleasure to meet all of you fine people.' I mean, really…who talks like that?" Christina asks.

"Palmer does." Izzy says, practically spitting as she says his name. "He actually used my whole name the whole time he was raping me. 'We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way Izzy Stevens!'" she mimics. "It sort of makes me want to change me name," she mutters.

"So he did rape you? It wasn't just 'rough sex?'" Christina asks with a twinge of sarcasm.

"No! Yes! I mean, I don't really know. I mean, it felt like rape. I wanted nothing more than to get him off of me and I couldn't. But then there was the voice in my head reminding me that I had wanted him so badly. I invited him into my room. I started the kissing, and was happy to take it further, until I changed my mind. Things had already gotten so far…I don't know whose fault it was. All I know is that I feel dirty. Like damaged goods…you know?" Izzy says, in a far away voice.


	7. Chapter 8

"Are you sure you're ready for this

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Meredith asks, as she watches her friend tug on her blonde ponytail nervously.

"Sure? Why wouldn't I be? My stitches are out and I feel fine." Izzy replies with a falsely bright smile.

"What if you see him?" Meredith says, knowing that she is pushing the issue.

"What do you want me to say, Meredith? That I'll run and find you and fall apart? That you should follow me around just to pick up the pieces?" Izzy retorts.

Meredith stands there, stunned. "No. I just thought it might be hard for you but, umm…I guess you have it under control."

Izzy rolls her eyes and walks out of the room.

Alex walks into the cafeteria and sits down next to George.

"To what do I owe this honor?" George says, sarcastically.

"Don't get all emotional, Bambi. I just figured since we did our detective work together, we might as well eat a sandwich at the same table," Alex replies.

"Fair enough," says George.

Palmer Talbot strides confidently into the cafeteria and places his tray on Alex and George's table.

"Mind if I join you? I'll be right back. I'm just going to get a bottle of water," Palmer says.

As he walks away, George looks at Alex questioningly.

"What? This isn't middle school. You want me to kick him out of the lunch table?" Alex says, rolling his eyes.

"I guess not…I just thought…" George says.

Before George can finish, Palmer sits down.

"How are everyone's surgeries going today? I am quite impressed with the facilities at Seattle Grace," Palmer says.

"I got to deliver twins today," George says.

"I got to help rebuild someone's face. Dr. Sloan actually let me do some of the bone replacement," Alex adds.

"Do you two golf?" Palmer asks.

"Do I golf? Is the sky blue?" Alex laughs.

"I didn't know you golfed Karev! I think this is a sport that I can actually beat you at," George says confidently.

"I wanted to invite the two of you to my country club. You know, to thank you for your understanding in the matter regarding Dr. Stevens. I appreciated you coming to my home the other night to discuss the matter so civilly. I'm sure you must be very upset about her condition. I do hope she gets the help she needs. If there is anything I can do…" Palmer adds.

"Thanks Palmer. I'm sure she'll be okay. Izzy's a tough girl," George says.

"So how's Saturday for golfing?" Alex asks.

"Saturday is fine with me." Palmer says.

"Ummm…Saturday Callie is off all day with me. I promised her we'd do something together," George says, hesitantly.

"Not a problem…bring her along." Palmer says, generously.

"Good job Bambi. Let your wife invade the guys golfing day," Alex says.

"You're just mad because now two of us can kick your ass, Karev," George replies with a smile.

Izzy walks into the cafeteria. She looks around and sees George sitting at a table with Alex, laughing.

_Interesting…usually Alex tortures George. It's nice to see them getting along. _

As she walks towards the table, she sees the third member of their table…Palmer. She freezes, and looks around for a safe place. Like an adolescent in a new school trying to find a table that will accept her, she frantically wanders around, looking for a place to sit down and disappear.

"Izzy! Over here!" George calls.

Izzy shakes her head.

"Stevens, relax! You can still sit with us. We're all adults," Alex says, nonchalantly.

Not knowing what to do, she drops her tray and runs out of the room.

Dr. Bailey is searching for a new pair of scrubs in the closet when she hears a door slam. Startled, she turns around to find a shaky Izzy standing behind her.

"Dr. Stevens. Are you alright?"

"I can't do this. I can't work here. I can't see him everyday," Izzy stammers.

"Pull yourself together, Stevens. You are a doctor. A damn good doctor. He's taken a lot from you. Don't let him take that too. I got you in on a big surgery this afternoon. You and Yang will be scrubbing in with Burke and I. Even the chief is coming in for this one. We are doing a heart/lung transplant on an infant. Go read up about it. I left the notes for you at the nurses station," Dr. Bailey says calmly.

Izzy takes a moment to collect herself. "Thank you, Dr. Bailey. I'm fine. I just needed a moment. I appreciate you getting me in on this surgery on my first day back."

"Don't mention it. Just be prepared and don't screw up," Dr. Bailey replies, grabbing a set of scrubs and walking out of the closet.

Christina and Izzy enter the operating room dressed in their gowns. Dr. Burke, Dr. Bailey and the chief are already discussing the upcoming surgery.

"I am so excited about this surgery. I could barely sleep last night!" Christina says.

"Yeah Christina…I love it when I get to perform a heart/lung transplant on a helpless infant. What's wrong with you? Do you really have no heart?" Izzy says.

"If I don't, do you think I'd make medical history if I performed my own transplant? " Christina replies.

Izzy rolls her eyes at Christina, somewhat good naturedly and prepares for surgery.

The chief enters to operating room followed by Palmer who says, "Hello Preston. Thank you for allowing me to scrub in."

Burke nods graciously as Christina glares at him. Burke looks away. There is silence in the room, and Izzy looks uncomfortably, looking for a place to fix her eyes that doesn't involve making eye contact with anyone.

Finally, Dr. Bailey breaks the silence. "Chief, I know I'm out of line, and that this is not my place, but I can't operate with him in here."

"Dr. Bailey, you have sworn to uphold the Hippocratic Oath. You will perform this surgery with your colleagues as a professional," the chief replies, angrily.

"So did Dr. Talbot, and I cleaned up the mess of harm that he inflicted on one of MY interns. I'm not working beside him," Dr. Bailey states, firmly.

"Dr. Bailey…please don't, on my behalf," Izzy pleads, growing more uncomfortable with the myriad of eyes that are focused on her.

"Oh, this isn't on your behalf. This is out of my own personal outrage. You aren't the only one hurt by this man. Everyone who saw you after that night is tormented by the image. Maybe if Dr. Webber here would take a look at the photos that I took, he'd feel a little differently about allowing rapists to practice medicine at him hospital," Dr. Bailey says, forcefully.

"Miranda, I'm warning you…" the chief begins.

"Please…" Izzy pleads again.

"If I am making anyone uncomfortable, maybe I should step out. Our first priority is the patient, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that," Palmer says, politely.

"Does anyone notice that I have a patient to attend to?" Dr. Burke says, annoyed at the commotion.

"My sentiments, exactly," the chief says. "Now let's attend to our patient,"

Palmer moves towards the patient, and smiles at Izzy. As he moves past her, he brushes against her.

Izzy's gasp is audible as she freezes. "I can't do this," she says quietly, and exits the operating room.

"Me neither," says Dr. Bailey, following after her.

"MIRANDA!" the chief calls.

Christina pauses for a moment and looks at Burke. "I can't either. I'm sorry Preston."

Meredith comes running into the house, breathlessly. "IZZY! Are you here? IZZY?"

No answer.

"IZZY!! Everyone is looking for you!" Meredith screams.

No answer.

Meredith flings open the door to Izzy's room and finds the window open.

"No…please no…." Meredith whispers.

She looks out the window to see Izzy sitting on the overhang of the roof, looking down at the long drop that separates her from the ground.

"Izzy, please come inside," Meredith begs.

"Did you ever notice how high up my room is?" Izzy asks.

"Yes. I'm afraid of heights. That's why this is your room and not mine. Please come inside, Iz. I know it was a rough day…let's just talk inside," Meredith says, nervously.

"It's always going to be rough day. It's always going to be a day where I remember what happened. Always a day that I remember who I am, and what I brought on myself," Izzy says, distantly.

"I'm coming out there. I'm terrified of heights, but I'm coming out there with you," Meredith says, as she tentatively climbs out on the ledge.

"Izzy…I don't really know what to say that will help. I'm not good at this sort of thing. All I know, is that none of this is your fault. You were violated in the worst way. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I know what I saw that night. I saw you all bloody and shaking and scared, and held your hand during the exam. I watched you try to disappear so you didn't have to feel anything. But I've also seen you at your best. I've seen you at your most annoying and optimistic. I've watched you fight your way back to respectability at work after Denny died. You funded the clinic, which has helped so many people. You've done so much to help other people. Now its time to help yourself," Meredith says.

"George and Alex sat with him at lunch. I heard through the grapevine that he's golfing with them on Saturday. He's taken my friends, he's in my surgeries, he's on my body, and he's in my nightmares every night. He's never going to leave me, Meredith. Never," Izzy says, flatly.

"Dr. Bailey and Christina, two of the most motivated surgeons we know, walked out of a ground breaking surgery today out of respect for you. I am sitting on the roof, trying not to let you know that I want to throw up out of fear right now. You have people who care about you and want to help you. Please…let us."

"How? How can anyone help me?" Izzy asks.

"I don't know, but I'll find out. We'll think of something. I promise. Just come inside." Meredith says.

Alex, George, and Callie walk toward the enormous golf course as their eyes grow wide.

"I still feel weird about this. I mean Izzy won't even look at me…What if…" George wonders out loud.

"You heard what the guy said. Come on…its consistent with Izzy. I know she's your best friend, but she's always been unstable. She cut Denny's LVAD wire! I mean, come on George," Callie says.

"I know…but even if his story is true, shouldn't I be there with her, rather than golfing with him?" George says.

"Can we have one day where we don't talk about Izzy? Can't we just enjoy ourselves together?" Callie asks.

George is silent. He knows how far he and Callie have come since his affair with Izzy. He wants her to trust him again, so he changes the subject.

"This is a little different from where I grew up golfing. My brothers and I used to go to the public golf course," George whispers to Callie.

"Don't worry. As long as we kick Karev's ass, we're okay."

"Ready to go?" Palmer asks as he walks toward the group.

They all nod and follow him.

"Christina…I don't know what to do anymore. I always say the wrong thing, and I'm not helping her. She's snapping at me right and left. Yesterday, I climbed out on the roof after her, and she still seemed annoyed with me," Meredith complains.

"Mer, no offense, but it isn't about you. Izzy doesn't owe you thanks for all your efforts, although she might want to thank me for giving up my surgery for her the other day," Christina responds.

"I'm not saying that, its just that she's hard to live with these days…" Meredith stops as she hears a door close, and Izzy emerges from her room looking stunned.

"I gotta go." Meredith says nervously.

"Hi Izzy," Meredith says, tentatively.

"I don't know what to say," Izzy says.

"Iz, I'm sorry. I thought you …" Meredith stammers.

"You thought I was out. I know. Stop apologizing. You're right. I've been awful…ungrateful. You've gone out of your way for me. Dr. Bailey was right. I'm not the only one who was hurt that night. I can't imagine what it was like for you, to find me there. You've tried to help and I've taken my anger out on you. I'm sorry," Izzy says, simply.

"It's okay. I just don't know how to help you," Meredith says.

"I thought of something you can do for me. Get him out of the hospital. Use your influence with the chief to get rid of him," Izzy says.

"I can do that. That's all I wanted. Something concrete that I could do." Meredith says, grateful that the conversation occurred.


	8. Chapter 9

Meredith knocks on the door to the chief's office

Meredith knocks on the door to the chief's office.

"Come in," he pauses as Meredith walks into his office. "To what do I owe this honor."

"I need your help," she says, slowly.

"What's the matter, Meredith? Are you in trouble? I meant it when I told your mother I'd look after you," he says, with concern.

Meredith shakes her head. "No. I'm fine. It's not me. But you need to get rid of Dr. Talbot. The sooner, the better,"

"Is this about Dr. Stevens?" the chief sighs.

"Chief, I was there that night. I saw her. I brought her here. If you looked at the pictures that Dr. Bailey took, you would see…" Meredith hears her voice rising, and struggles to keep her emotions under control.

"I have seen the pictures. You can be assured that I have met with Dr. Talbot regarding the incident. While it would be inappropriate of me to discuss that meeting with you, I can assure you that his story was consistent with the mental state the Dr. Stevens has displayed with regards to recent events," the chief begins, trying to tread lightly.

"Richard! Izzy has been nothing but a model intern since her return. I've probably made more mistakes than her. She has made quite an admirable comeback considering the circumstances. Do you truly think she would concoct a story like that out of the blue?" Meredith asks, incredulously.

"No. I think Dr. Stevens believes that the alleged assault occurred. However, I have known Dr. Talbot's family for years. They are not the kind of people who…"

"The kind of people who what?? The kind of people who rape innocent women? Just how well do you know this guy? And how do you know his family? You know, I have never used my relationship with you to further my career. What relationship does this guy have with you that he gets that privilege?" Meredith spews.

"Calm down, Meredith. Dr. Talbot Sr. helped me save Adele's life. I told him that I would repay the favor some day. When he called and asked if I could help his son, I couldn't refuse."

"He helped you save Adele's life? What do you mean?"

"When we were in medical school together, I was dating Adele. Palmer Talbot Sr. was dating his late wife, Connie. Connie and Adele were very friendly and the four of us spent a great deal of time together. Adele was a bridesmaid in their wedding, and I was a groomsman. The four of us were quite close," Richard begins.

Meredith nods, for him to continue.

"After Palmer Jr. was born, we didn't see them as often. As you know, Adele and I never had children, but we continued to see them occasionally. I remember Adele saying that she missed her shopping partner," Richard says with a smile.

Meredith listens intently.

"We hadn't seen them in a few months, when Palmer Sr. called me out of the blue. He invited me to come over and watch the Superbowl, and suggested that the girls go out and do their own thing. Adele and Connie were like two school girls, giggling and laughing and planning their afternoon of shopping and lunch and whatever else those two when they were together," Richard says, with a smile.

"It was icy, and Palmer Sr. and I suggested they stay in with us, but they refused. They had already dropped Palmer Jr. off at Connie's sister's for the day, and were looking forward to their day together. We got the call an hour after they left,"

"What call?" Meredith asks.

"There was an accident. They skidded off the road and into a telephone poll. Adele was driving. Being in the passenger seat, Connie took the hardest part of the impact, but Adele was hurt badly too. Neither one of them were wearing a seat belt, and Connie was actually thrown through the windshield. Adele hit the dashboard and the steering wheel pretty hard and both were unconscious when Palmer Sr. and I arrived at the hospital. Seeing my Adele like that….I can't even picture it…It was the worst moment of my life,"

Richard shudders at the memory.

Meredith is silent, and is so caught up in the story that she almost forgets why she originally came to the chief.

"Connie was in a coma, and after a few days, they confirmed that there was no brain activity. The machines were keeping her alive. Of course, Palmer Sr. wouldn't hear it. He swore she would wake up, and refused to disconnect the life support. Adele wasn't doing much better. She was unresponsive and after the tests all came back, they determined that her kidneys were failing due to an injury sustained during the impact. She needed a kidney transplant and was placed on the long list of transplant patients," Richard says.

"Wow. I never knew…" Meredith says.

"Palmer Sr. and I used to sit in the waiting room together in between sitting with Adele and Connie. One day, the doctor came out to talk to me. He told me that Adele was failing, which of course I knew but didn't want to accept. He told me that Adele had only days left without a transplant but that there was still someone ahead of her on the list. He was honest and told me that a donor was unlikely to be found. The same day, they repeated the PET scans on Connie and found that there was still no brain activity. Palmer and I sat there in that waiting room, crying like two babies. We knew we were going to lose them. Palmer got up without saying anything and walked away. I figured he just needed some air."

Richard pauses and takes a sip of the coffee on his desk.

"When he came back, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Adele is going to make it. I thought he was just trying to be supportive, so I thanked him and told him Connie would get her miracle too. He shook his head and said, 'No. Adele is really going to make it. I told them I am taking Connie off of life support, and that I want Adele to have her kidneys.' I didn't know what to say. There was a lot of red tape to go through, but in the end, Adele and Connie were a match," Richard says.

Meredith nods, understanding that his connection to Palmer Talbot is a force to be reckoned with.

"Adele is alive because Palmer Talbot Sr. was a hero. He gave me my wife back. When he called me and said there was a problem at Mount Sinai and that his son needed a residency here, I couldn't refuse. I didn't want to refuse, damn it! I have waited my whole life to repay the favor to that man. Every day, I look at my wife and realize how grateful I am to Palmer Sr. We grew apart after that. I haven't seen him since Connie's funeral. I think he just couldn't face Adele and I, but I never forgot what he did for us," Richard says, his voice choked with emotion.

As moved as Meredith is by the story, she cannot forget the underlying reason that she came to the chief in the first place.

"Richard, what was the problem at Mount Sinai? Why did Palmer have to leave mid-year?"

"I don't know, Meredith, and I don't care! This boy is the son of the man who saved Adele's life. I trust his father, and I believe his son's story. This discussion is closed!" Richard says, and he walks out of his office, leaving Meredith standing there.

Meredith stands silently in the chief's office contemplating her next move.

"So, you're not much of a golfer, are you Karev?" George says with a smile.

"Shut up, Bambi! I told you…my wrist is shot," Alex fires back.

"Listen…if either one of you wants lessons," Callie says, smugly having come out with a better score than all of them, including Palmer.

"George, your wife here is an outstanding golfer. You're not so bad yourself. Alex, you have an excellent putt. I think the wind was against you today." Palmer says, generously.

"Thank you, Palmer. Besides…you have to throw Bambi a bone once in a while. It makes him feel good once in a while," Alex says with a snide smile.

"Why don't we all go get some lunch," Palmer suggests.

As they all follow him to the clubhouse, Alex whispers to George, "I really think this guy is okay. A little uptight, but not a bad guy,"

George nods in agreement, and Callie is silent.


	9. Chapter 10

"So once again, everyone thinks I am crazy Izzy Stevens

"So once again, everyone thinks I am crazy Izzy Stevens! I should just go quietly, and maintain some semblance of dignity," Izzy says, softly after hearing Meredith's version of her conversation with the chief.

"I don't think you're crazy, Christina doesn't think you're crazy, Dr. Bailey definitely doesn't think you're crazy. Rumor has it, she's had Palmer on scut all week," Meredith says.

"That's great. He's not getting good surgical opportunities. I really feel like justice has been served." Izzy says, sarcastically.

"Hey…you're doing it again. Remember? I'm on YOUR side," Meredith reminds her.

"I'm sorry," Izzy sighs.

Suddenly, something Izzy has said triggers an idea in Meredith's head.

"Izzy! You never filed formal charges. If you did, you could take this to trial, and everyone would have to hear your side. You said something about justice. The only justice would be if he was behind bars." Meredith says..

"No! What if I had to go to trial? I couldn't stand in front of all those people and tell them what happened. Everyone would see the pictures, and everyone would see me. I can't do it," Izzy says.

"You can. We'd all be there with you. Just think about it." Meredith pleads.

"I'll think about it, but the answer is still no," Izzy says.

(BREAK)

Izzy sits at a table in the cafeteria, carefully going over her notes. She tries to pretend that she didn't notice everyone staring and whispering as she passed their tables. Suddenly George comes over and puts his tray down next to her.

"Hey stranger," he says.

"Wow. Are you talking to me again?" Izzy asks, sarcastically.

"I was never not talking to you. I thought you weren't talking to me. You haven't called in a while. I don't know…I guess I didn't really know what to say to you so…" George's voice trails off.

"So you went golfing with my rapist?" Izzy says, bitterly.

"Iz…listen. You've been through so much. You've lost Denny, left the hospital and came back to the hospital. I know I hurt you when I went back to Callie. I know you haven't been at your best in a long time, and if things went a little crazy, then…"

Izzy cuts him off. "You were supposed to be my person, George. The one who's always on my team no matter what. I don't know what Palmer told you, but you never even asked me. You never asked me what happened that night. You took his word for it, and never even asked me."

"I tried to ask you right after it happened. You didn't want to talk to me. Then you told everyone it was all your fault and that he didn't rape you. Then you changed your mind. I am your person. And sometimes, being that person means being honest, even when it isn't what you want to hear," George says, calmly.

Meredith and Derek walk into the cafeteria, talking amiably.

"Just go George," Izzy says.

"Izzy, I want to help you. I think you need some help, and I want to help you find it," George says.

"I SAID GO!" Izzy yells, a little too loudly. The entire cafeteria turns and stares.

"Izzy…" George tries again.

Izzy's voice rises to hysteria. She feels the tears welling in her eyes, and her throat tightens, "LEAVE ME ALONE, GEORGE! YOU'RE NOT MY PERSON ANYMORE!" Izzy screams in the silent cafeteria.

She freezes as she feels all eyes upon her. Meredith knows she needs to do something.

"Go with me on this one" she whispers.

"What?" he asks, confused.

"No, Dr. Shepherd." Meredith says loudly. "For the third time…I will not marry you," Meredith says loudly.

"Meredith!" Derek gasps.

She gives him a pleading look and motions towards Izzy.

"I told you the last time, it doesn't matter how big the ring is…I am not marrying you!" Meredith continues, loud enough to attract attention.

Derek suppresses a smile and gets down on one knee.

"Please, Dr. Grey. I can't live without you. We could get married right here, right now, in the middle of the ummm…hospital cafeteria," he says, deciding to play along.

"Absolutely not!" Meredith says, and storms out.

All eyes are on Derek, who catches Izzy's watery eyes at that moment. "Thank you," she mouths.

He pauses for a brief moment.

"MEREDITH! I can't live without you!" he yells, running after her.

Izzy sneaks quietly out of the cafeteria.

(BREAK)

"Dr. Bailey?" Palmer says, approaching the chief resident.

"Yes, Talbot?" she responds, curtly.

"I just wanted to point out in case you were unaware, that I have been working scut for the past week. I was wondering when you were going to rotate duties," he asks politely.

"Dr. Talbot. Let me be frank with you. I don't like you. I'm never going to like you, and as long as I don't like you, you're going to be working scut," Dr. Bailey says, coldly.

"Dr. Bailey. If this has anything to do with the Stevens matter…" Palmer begins, calmly.

"Yes. This has to do with the fact that you raped one of my interns. I don't take kindly to criminals in my hospital." Dr. Bailey states, angrily.

"Last I checked, it wasn't YOUR hospital. I'll take this matter up with the chief," Palmer says, still calm and collected.

"You do that. But until you do, get your butt to the pit and get working," Dr. Bailey says.

(BREAK)

Derek finds Meredith in the hall outside the cafeteria.

"Thanks Derek. I appreciate you playing along there. I thought Izzy needed some help," Meredith says with a smile.

"Ummm…couldn't you have just dropped your tray or something?" Derek quips back.

"No. It had to be big and dramatic," Meredith says.

"That was pretty good of you. You've been a good friend to Izzy, haven't you." Derek says, putting his hand on Meredith's shoulder.

"I'm trying…I thought about everything you said that night. When you called me self centered and unevolved. You said that I only worried about people and how they related to me and my issues. Well…this is me, trying to change that. I'm trying to be less selfish, and you know what? It feels good." Meredith says.

"Maybe I was a little hard on you that night," Derek says.

"Maybe I was a little hard on you when I turned down your third fake marriage proposal in the cafeteria. We're even," Meredith says, walking away with a smile.

(Break)

"Hey Izzy." Christina calls, running to catch up to her.

"I'm so late. I got caught up in the cafeteria and…" Izzy's voice trails off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I heard about that. Meredith really saved your ass. Anyway, Palmer wormed his way into your surgery this afternoon. I wanted to know if you wanted to switch with me. I'll take your cardio surgery and you can work in the clinic for me," Christina proposes.

"Wow Christina! That's so generous of you. You're always thinking of me," Izzy says, sarcastically.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Christina asks.

"It's a no." Izzy says.

"Are you sure? He'll be there…all creepy and weird and saying your full name and stuff. You could be safely down in the clinic with Bailey, helping those in need," Christina says.

Suddenly Izzy doesn't feel like working. A low pressure day in the clinic where she can think about Denny sounds perfect to her.

"Sure Christina. Take it. Take my surgery. I could use a low pressure day," Izzy admits.

"Wow! I didn't think it would be this easy. Thanks!" Christina says, smiling and rushing to prep for surgery.

"No problem," Izzy says, defeated, as she heads off to the clinic.

(Break)

"Stevens. I though I had Yang today." Dr. Bailey says, when Izzy walks through the door.

"We switched," Izzy says, not offering any more of an explanation.

"Well, that's fine. Your first patient is behind that curtain over there," Dr. Bailey says.

Izzy opens the curtain and sees a young, blonde girl no more than fourteen sitting there. She looks scared, and it is obvious by her swollen eyes that she has recently been crying.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Stevens, but my friends call me Izzy. What's your name?"

"Anna," the girl says, almost inaudibly.

"Hi Anna. What seems to be the problem?" Izzy says, smiling warmly, trying to put the girl at ease.

"Ummm…I think I might be pregnant," Anna says, looking at the floor.

Izzy takes a deep breath. _Been there, kid. Good luck to you. _

"Have you missed your period?" Izzy asks.

"Yeah. I think I'm a few days late. I don't really keep good track all the time. But I think I'm about a week or so late," Anna says, still looking at the floor.

Izzy tries to think of something to say to make the young girl feel better. She is usually good with patients…with people in general. For some reason, lately, she seems to be having trouble finding the right words.

"Um. Let's do a test and find out. I'm going to need a urine sample," Izzy says, handing the girl a cup and directing her to the ladies room.

Anna silently goes into the bathroom and comes out a moment later, handing the cup to Izzy. Izzy sets up the test in another room and goes back to talk to Anna.

"So, umm…what does the father say about the possibility of having a child," Izzy asks.

"I dunno," Anna shrugs, still looking at the floor.

"Do you know who he is?" Izzy asks.

Anna snaps her head up at Izzy. "Of course I do! I'm not some kind of slut, you know!"

Izzy cringes at the way she must have sounded to the young girl. "Anna, I didn't mean it that way. I meant, is he supportive?" Izzy says, trying again.

"We don't talk anymore. He raped me, and that was the only time I ever had sex. It was about a month ago," Anna says, flatly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Izzy says, softly.

"It's okay. When it first happened, I couldn't say the word. I mean, _rape_, it sounds so dramatic. But after I went to the police and told them the story, I had to say it so many times that now, it's just another word. You know?" Anna says, sounding older than her age.

"Wow. You went to the police? Did your parents take you?" Izzy asks, forgetting her role of medical professional for a moment.

"No. I don't know my dad. He left when I was really little. My mom works two jobs, so I didn't want to upset her. She works so hard. I couldn't add stress to her life. I ended up telling her after they arrested him, but by then, at least she knew I was safe," Anna explains, growing more and more confident, as she tells her story.

"So you went to the police by yourself? With no parents?" Izzy asked, filled with admiration for this young girl.

Anna nods. "I had no choice. He hurt me. I thought about my little sister. I wouldn't want him able to do this to other girls. I wanted my sister to be safer than I was."

"You're a very brave girl," Izzy says.

"Thanks." Anna says, smiling shyly.

"Dr. Stevens! The results of your patient's test are in, the nurse calls.

Izzy snaps back into her role as a doctor.

"Thank you," she says, officially as she steps away from Anna for a moment to take the paper from the nurse.

Izzy glances at the paper and smiles.

"Anna, you're not pregnant. Your HCG levels are normal," Izzy says with a smile.

"Wow. That's a relief! I didn't know what I'd do if I had that monster's baby inside of me." Anna says, more to herself than to Izzy.

Izzy regards the young girl with an admiration she cannot describe.

"Anna, for what its worth, you are an extremely brave young lady. Sometimes stress can bring on a delay in your cycle. Have you gone for any type of counseling following such a traumatic assault?" Izzy asks.

Anna nods. "Yes. The police gave me all sorts of phone numbers. I didn't call for a while, but I decided to call one night in the middle of the night. I was having trouble sleeping and falling asleep in class, and my grades were really bad. I decided that he ruined my present, but he wasn't going to ruin my future, so I called one of the hotlines and they got me into a support group. It's pretty cool. At first I thought it might be weird because some of the people were older than me, but I ended up feeling pretty good about it. Everyone kind of understands all the things that I feel. I always leave there feeling, I don't know…stronger"

"I really admire you. You're a smart kid. I know you're going to be fine," Izzy says.

"Thanks." Anna says, smiling shyly. "I'm just so relieved about the pregnancy test. I just felt like, I've handled everything so far…but this would just be too much,"

"Well, keep doing what you're doing. You're doing great," Izzy says.

"Thanks." Anna says, as she gathers her things and leaves the clinic.

_If she can do it, I can do it, _Izzy thinks as she makes her chart notes on Anna.

(Break)

"Meredith!" Izzy calls, breathlessly running down the hall.

"Hi. I was just on my way to the lab…" Meredith says, still walking.

The two of them maintain a fast pace, as they converse.

"I just wanted to thank you. You know, for the cafeteria," Izzy says, awkwardly.

"Don't mention it. You looked like you needed a little help," Meredith says with a smile,

"Yeah. Is Derek mad?" Izzy asks, smiling back.

"No. I think he was actually impressed to see me do something unselfish for a change," Meredith says.

"For a change?" Izzy asks, puzzled.

"Yeah. The night he broke up with me, he called me self-centered and unevolved. He told me that all of my relationships only concern me in how they relate to me…that I've never truly been capable of caring about anyone because I'm too wrapped up in my own issues," Izzy says.

"So you showed him you cared about me in order to show him that you were not self-centered? Ummm…no offense, Mer, but didn't you basically prove him right," Izzy asks.

Meredith sighs. "I'm trying to be a better person, Izzy. I'm trying. It doesn't happen overnight."

"Well…you can tell Derek that you're on your way. I'm going to ask you a big favor," Izzy says, taking a deep breath.

"What?" Meredith asks.

"Come to the police with me tomorrow when we get off our shift. I don't want him here. I want him in jail where he belongs," Izzy says.

"Wow. Sure. I get off at 2:00. I'll pick you up at home," Meredith says.


	10. Chapter 11

Alex walks into the operating room where Mark has been waiting

Alex walks into the operating room where Mark has been waiting.

"Thanks for coming Dr. Karev. Did you think we were in a different time zone?" Mark says, annoyed at the fact that Alex was late.

"With all due respect, I think I gave Dr. Karev the wrong time. I told him 10:15am instead of 10:00am. The error was mine," Palmer says.

"Let's just get started. We have important surgeries to attend to. We are in the business of keeping people healthy here," Mark says, self-importantly.

"Aren't we doing a boob job?" Alex whispers to Palmer.

Palmer smiles at him, and the two of them laugh quietly.

"Thanks for saving my ass!" Alex whispers to Palmer.

"Not a problem," Palmer says.

(Break)

"Sorry I'm late, Iz!" Meredith says as she bounds through the door.

"It's okay. I've made two batches of muffins, and an apple crumb pie while I was waiting," Izzy says, pacing nervously around the hallway.

"Okay…are you ready to go?" Meredith says, nervously.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Izzy says.

The two of them get into the car, and Meredith tries to make small talk to break the awkward silence.

"So, how was your shift last night?" Meredith asks.

"Fine. How was yours?" Izzy replies distractedly.

"Fine. Umm…did you see the new syringes? I think its easier to see the measurements on them," Meredith says, cringing at the banality of her own words.

"Mer, maybe we just shouldn't talk right now…okay?" Izzy says.

(Break)

Callie puts her tray down next to Miranda and joins her at her table.

"How's it going?" Callie asks.

"It's going." Dr. Bailey replies, distractedly.

"Are you enjoying the duties of chief resident? I know it can be tough. If the pressure is too much…" Callie says, wanting Miranda to know that there are no hard feelings.

Miranda shakes her head. "No. It's not that. I am a damn good teacher. I take the lowest interns and shape them into good doctors. I treat everyone fairly and I make sure that everyone gets the best education that they can get while they are on my team!" Miranda says, forcefully.

"Uh huh. I know you do. And the only reason they call you the Nazi, is…" Callie begins, not understanding where Miranda is going with this.

" I can't do it. I can't teach a rapist to be a doctor," Miranda says, definitely.

"So you think he did it?" Callie says.

"Do I think he did it? I think Izzy Stevens is as crazy as anyone I ever met. I'll never get over what she did with Denny. Cutting that wire is the craziest thing I have ever seen anyone do. I think she's overly emotional, and sometimes has bad judgment. But I also know that she is honest, and forgiving and genuine, and the first to see the good in everyone. The way she was dragged into this hospital, in that condition, I'll never believe that anyone but a monster could do that to another person…NEVER." Miranda says, angrily.

"You know, I truly hate her, Miranda. George and I will never be the same because of what she did. In my book she's a home wrecker, and a complete nut job. She's needy and her friendship with George drags him down. I want nothing more than to believe that she has gone off the deep end," Callie says.

"So you don't believe her?" Miranda says.

"Unfortunately, I think I might. I wasn't sure, until the day we went golfing with him. There was something about him, that just didn't sit right with me. I don't know what it was…but it was just one of those things. Call it women's intuition. So I did I little research, on his mid year exit from Mount Sinai Medical Center. Do you know not one thing can be found on him? Not one. It's like he had some fairy godmother who wiped out his existence there. It's as though he was never there. Something's wrong with that guy," Callie says.

"So you do believe her?" Miranda says.

"I think I do, but I had to hear your take on it first. You were there. You saw everything that night. I trust you, Miranda. If you say that crazy girl is telling the truth, that's all I need to hear," Callie says.

"Wow. I never knew you felt that way, Dr. Torres." Miranda says.

"Well, I do. You are a damn good doctor, and a damn good person. It's to your credit that you don't want a rapist on your team," Callie says.

"Thanks…" Miranda says.

(Break)

"I'm sorry to ask you to do this, Ms. Stevens, but I would like to ask you to tell the story one more time to Officer Fitzgerald," the male police officer says as he escorts a female police officer into the room.

Izzy sighs. She is so tired. She can't imagine gathering the strength to tell the story one more time, but she thinks of Anna. _If a teenager can do this alone, I can certainly do it with my friend sitting beside me._

Just then, Meredith breaks into the conversation. "First of all, it is DOCTOR Stevens. Second of all, she has told the story to three different officers, and you have it written down from the original report, filed at the hospital. She's not telling it again," Meredith says, angry on Izzy's behalf.

Officer Fitzgerald places her hand on Meredith's arm. "I can imagine this is hard for both of you. You are a wonderful friend for being so protective. The problem with this case is that we can get the physical evidence from the hospital, but we need to prove that this was not consensual intercourse. From what Dr. Stevens is saying, that will probably be his defense in a court of law. I need a consistent story as many times as I can get it. But don't worry, this is the last time we'll ask you to tell it," she explains, kindly.

Izzy nods. "I understand,"

Meredith opens her mouth to protest, but Izzy stops her.

"Mer…it's okay. I can do this." she says.

"Okay." Meredith says, grabbing Izzy's hand and squeezing it.

(Break)

"Yang, you're with me this afternoon," Callie says to Christina.

"Get me switched to cardio and you can pick the bridesmaid dress color." Christina negotiates.

"Nope. And guess what, it's a quiet day on ortho. No surgeries. Just some easy rounds." Callie says.

"Who did I piss off?" Christina wonders out loud.

"Stop being paranoid. You didn't piss off anyone. I need you to help me with something. I have a plan," Callie says.

"I like plans…" Christina says, slowly.

(Break)

"Dr. Shepherd? Can I see you for a moment?" Richard says.

"Sure. What can I do for you?" Derek asks.

"I need you to take Dr. Talbot for the day. He's very interested in neuro," Richard says.

"Not a problem, but since when did you start making assignments?" Derek asks.

"Since Bailey's being a pain in my you know what!" Richard complains.

"When is she not a pain in the you know what?" Derek asks, good naturedly.

"I gotta get this kid switched off her team. His father's a close friend and colleague and I have to take care of the kid," Richard says.

"Well, I'll take him on neuro today if that will help you out." Derek says.

"Thanks." Richard says.

Callie wanders over to the chief. "I couldn't help but overhear. If you are looking for a resident to take Dr. Talbot, I'd be happy to," Callie says.

"Thank you, Dr. Torres. I think that might work out quite nicely," Richard says.

"Not a problem, chief." Callie says, smiling.

_Perfect!_ She thinks, with a smile.


	11. Chapter 12

"Dr

"Dr. Torres, thank you for inviting me to work on your team. I appreciate the opportunity," Palmer says to Callie.

"The pleasure is mine, Dr. Talbot. I hear the chief speaks very highly of you," Callie says with a welcoming smile. "I have many opportunities for you,"

"Thank you. I better go pull some charts and get started," Palmer says.

(Break)

"You did great, Iz. It's over. Let's go celebrate with some drinks at Joe's!"

"You know, I think I may actually feel like doing that," Izzy says.

"Do you mind if I call Christina? I know she gets off early tonight," Meredith says.

"That's fine," Izzy says.

(Break)

"Callie, Alex asked if we wanted to go to Joe's tonight. I told him I was game if you were," George says.

"Sounds good to me," Callie says, distractedly.

"Okay. See you later. Palmer's picking us up at 8," George says.

(Break)

Meredith and Izzy walk into Joe's, talking and laughing until their eyes fix on the table in front of them. The see Palmer telling an animated story, and Alex and George laughing, while Callie rests her arm on his shoulder.

"Let's go," Izzy whispers to Meredith.

"No. We have as much a right to be here as they do," Meredith says.

Just then, Christina walks in. She surveys the two tables and says, "Wow…this is awkward," then she sits next to Meredith. "Oh…just to warn you, McDreamy and McSteamy are heading down here too, with my wedding obsessed husband. When he gets here, can you just pretend I have been looking at invitations and asking your opinion?"

Before they can answer, Derek, Mark and Preston walk in.

They look from table to table until Mark says, "Wow…this is like being in high school, walking into the cafeteria and seeing your two girlfriends. Which one do you sit with?"

"Not that you'd know anything about that…" Derek quips.

Preston quietly leads them to the table where his fiancé sits.

They make small talk, as Izzy has trouble focusing. Her eyes keep wandering to Callie's arm on Palmer. She sees George's brow start to furrow.

"What is wrong with her? First she took my boyfriend and best friend, and now she even wants my rapist?" Izzy says out loud, to no one in particular.

"Cut her a break. She's a married woman. As if you didn't know that…" Christina says, her eyes on Callie.

"You know what…I don't think I want to stay here. He can have Joe's too." Izzy says, as she stands up to leave.

Meredith puts her hand on Izzy's shoulder. "Sit down. I'll be right back," she says.

Meredith walks over to Callie's table.

"Wow! When did Meredith grow a set?" Christina says to Derek.

"I have no idea…" he replies, smiling admiringly at Meredith.

"Callie, Meredith says, "Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure," Callie says, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, Palmer. I'll be back in a second!" she says with a flirtatious smile.

George scowls, and Alex says, "Woah man. What's up with wifey?"

"I have no idea." George says.

"Gotta get them better trained than that, Bambi!" Alex says, condescendingly.

"Callie, what the hell are you doing? I know you and Izzy have never been…" Meredith starts, once they are away from everyone.

"Stop. I know what you must be thinking. I believe her, Meredith. I think he did it," Callie begins as Meredith cuts her off.

"Of course he did it! That's what I've been trying to tell everyone. Why is it that…wait. Did you just say you think he did it? Then why are you…?" Meredith wonders as Callie cuts her off.

"Just trust me. I don't like Izzy, I don't want to be her friend. I wish she would go away and never come back, but I also have a sense of right and wrong. I think he's guilty, and I wouldn't like myself very much if I ignored that feeling I have." Callie's voice softens as she says her next sentence, "Besides, she's important to George."

"I don't understand. On one hand you hate Izzy, on the other hand you think he's guilty and on the third hand, which I know all of us surgeons think we should have, you are a married woman flirting with a rapist in a bar?" Meredith questions.

"I want to leave you out of this," Callie says. "Just trust that I am doing the right thing. And trust that your 'person' knows and approves of my methods."

Meredith looks over a Christina who keeps pretending not to be repeatedly glancing at Callie and Meredith.

"Ten bucks on Torres," Mark says.

"Twenty on Grey. You've never seen her angry," Derek replies.

"Anyone else want in on the action?" Mark says. "Come on Stevens…"

"I don't really think this is funny, Mark," Izzy says, pointedly.

"Christina and I aren't betting. We have a wedding to pay for," Preston says.

"Yes. I can't wait to order the flower bouquets," Christina says, rolling her eyes at Izzy, who forces a smile.

Mark is silent for a moment before he says. "I'm sorry, Stevens. Poor taste, on my part."

"Poor taste seems to follow you," Izzy says.

"Ouch!" Derek says, laughing.

Callie and Meredith go back to their respective tables. George excuses himself to go to the bar. Taking advantage of the moment, Callie leads Palmer away from their table.

"So, how are you enjoying Seattle Grace?" she asks.

"I'm enjoying the medical aspects and the few people I've gotten to know, however, I feel I've gotten off to a poor start due to Dr. Stevens' accusations. I should have taken more time to get to know her, before getting involved with her. I do feel sorry for the poor thing though. She seems to be a bit delusional," Palmer says.

Callie shifts, uncomfortably. Normally, she would like nothing more than to join him in bashing Izzy, but at the moment, she feels quite defensive of Izzy.

She shakes off her thoughts and attends to the task at hand.

"Do you date much?" Callie asks, flirtatiously.

"Not usually. I am a bit of a workaholic. I dated a supervisor of mine back at Mount Sinai and it didn't work out. I vowed after that to never date a professional superior again," he says, as if knowing what Callie was thinking.

_Damn! All our hard work out the window._

"But," Palmer says, taking a large sip of his third scotch, "I must admit, that Dr. Grey is quite easy on the eyes," he says.

_Would she do it? Does Meredith have the guts? _

"Really? She and I are in a wedding together. Dr. Yang and Dr. Burke are getting married. She's the maid of honor and I am a bridesmaid.

"Oh, well, I know she and Dr. Stevens are quite close. I'm sure after all the rumors…" Palmer says to Callie.

"Don't be silly…we all know Dr. Stevens for who she is. A little melodramatic…that's all. No one really takes her seriously," Callie says, feeling guilty as she says it, despite the circumstances.

"But her and Dr. Grey seem to be…" Palmer says.

"Meredith's just that type of person. She likes to help people. But I'm sure she doesn't believe that crazy story. I mean, come on, a guy like you doesn't have to force women to be with you…right?" Callie says, almost choking on the words.

"Of course not," Palmer says, almost angrily.

"I think you and Dr. Grey would be a beautiful couple!" Callie says, with a smile.

_I hope Meredith Grey is a little tougher than I think she is,_ Callie thinks.


	12. Chapter 13

"I want Grey today, Miranda," Callie says, as they set up their schedule for the week

"I want Grey today, Miranda," Callie says, as they set up their schedule for the week.

"That's fine, Torres, I'll take Stevens and O'Malley. I'm putting Yang with Burke, because quite honestly, I can't see listening to her complain today. I have a headache. Karev and Talbot are on plastics again, because they have to follow through with that patient from yesterday," Dr. Bailey responds.

"See you later," Callie says.

Everyone checks the board to see their assignments for the day.

"Score! Cardio!" Christina says, as she sees her assignment.

Meredith quietly goes off to find Callie, while Izzy and George stand awkwardly next to each other.

George is the first to speak. "Izzy, I just want you to know that…"

"Don't George. I'm feeling pretty good today. I don't want to ruin it by hearing your pathetic excuses," Izzy says, shortly.

"No. Wait. I don't know what's going on. I never sat down with you and heard your side of it. You never wanted to talk to me. From that first night, you would only talk to Meredith, and I didn't know what I could do to help you. The fact is, since things didn't work out with us, I haven't felt like you wanted to talk to me. I haven't felt like you we were Izzy and George," George says.

"This has nothing to do with us as a couple. This has to do with you as my best friend. This has to do with the fact that I was violently sexually assaulted. Of everyone, I thought you would be the one who would stand beside me. You'd hold my hand as I told the story to the police. You'd quiet the people who say I'm a crazy, hysterical female who isn't telling the truth. That's what I thought I had in you, but instead, I have a friend who is so happy to be one of the guys that he'd go golfing with my rapist." Izzy says.

"Wow. I'm a jerk…aren't I," George says, realizing that Izzy is right.

"Yes. You are," Izzy says, softening towards him against her will.

"Can you ever forgive me? Can we start over, and you can tell me the story of what happened, and I can beat up the bad guy for you?" George asks.

Izzy shakes her head sadly. "No. This isn't that kind of thing. I'll always love you, George, and maybe someday we'll be Izzy and George again, but it's not going to be now," Izzy says.

"Wow. I'm really sorry, Iz. If there's anything I can do…" George says.

"Too late. Let's go find Bailey before she kills us," Izzy says.

George silently follows her down the hallway, kicking himself for the way he has acted.

(Break)

"Callie? I brought you these charts and…" Meredith says.

"I don't need charts, I need you," Callie says.

"What? I don't follow…" Meredith says, confused.

"Look…you want to help your friend? We're going to have to do something drastic. I was going to do it myself, but its not going to work out that way. The only way to show this guy for what he is, is for you to do it," Callie says.

"Do what?" Meredith asks, not quite following.

"I'm going to let you in on my plan. Or actually, its going to be your plan now. I'm going to say again, this doesn't mean I like Izzy, or care what happens to her. I have my reasons for caring that this guy gets what he deserves," Callie says.

"Fine. What's the plan," Meredith says.

(Break)

"Dr. Stevens, can you run these tests to the lab for me? Tell them I need them stat," Dr. Bailey says.

"Sure," Izzy says, grabbing the labs and speed walking down the hallway, not looking where she is going.

On the way back, she remembers that Dr. Bailey had mentioned that she was out of gloves. Izzy runs to the supply closet to grab some gloves. As the door closes, she feels a hand over her mouth. She tries to scream, but the hand applies more pressure.

"Dr. Izzy Stevens. Two policemen showed up at my apartment to search for evidence. Apparently someone has filed charges against me. Don't worry…they didn't find any warrant for my arrest. You'll be hearing from them soon that the charges were unfounded. But if you know what's good for you, you'll take precautions not to inconvenience me. I'd hate for you to end up like Dr. Mansfield at Mount Sinai…poor thing." Palmer says.

She notices a faint smell of alcohol on his breath. She is too scared to speak, and says nothing as he takes his hand off her mouth and quietly leaves the closet.

Izzy leans against a wall and sits down.

"Dr. O'Malley. How are you?" Palmer says, as he sees George on his way down the hall.

"Umm…fine," he says. _Something about this guy's eyes don't look right._

"Listen…maybe you can help me with a situation," Palmer says, confidentially.

"A situation?" George asks.

"Yes. I went in to the supply closet to get some syringes for Dr. Sloan. While I was in there, I ran into Dr. Stevens. I made the mistake of trying to talk to her. I think she really believes her story. I could see she was getting upset, so I left the closet quickly, but she's in there with all this sharp equipment, and there is no telling what an unstable girl like that may do if someone doesn't stop her," Palmer says.

Without missing a beat, George runs to the supply closet where he finds Izzy sitting on the ground, trying to catch her breath. She is shaky and scared, and quite surprised to see George.

"Iz?" he says, scared to move to close.

She doesn't respond, she just waves him away.

He sits down next to her.

"Dr. Bailey's going to kill us if we don't get back," he says, for lack of anything else to say.

"Yeah…she says, and starts to stand up.

She opens the closet door and all of a sudden feels the room spinning. Her throat begins to close.

"George!" she gasps. "I can't breathe!"

"Help! I need help!" George calls out.

Derek comes running down the hallway.

"What's the matter?" he says, taking Izzy's vitals and lifting her on a gurney.

Mark joins him.

"She's tachycardic. Heart rate 160, bp rising," Mark says.

"Is she okay?" George asks.

Meredith and Christina come running.

"She better be dead. I gave up a double bypass for this. Actually, almost dead would be better…then I could operate on her," Christina says.

"George! What happened?" Meredith asks, panicked.

"I don't know. She came out of the supply closet like this. I think she ran into Dr. Talbot in there and the next thing I knew, she couldn't breathe," George says.

Dr. Bailey comes running in response to the page from Dr. Shepherd.

"Dr. Bailey, I paged you, so you'd know where your interns are," Derek says.

"Dr. Stevens? Oh my gosh. What the hell is going on here?" Miranda says, looking at George.

"Well, she was in the supply closet, and…" George says.

"I don't mean that. I mean there are 3 interns standing here and not one of you are able to diagnose a panic attack? I sure hope I haven't failed you that badly!" she says, looking at George, Meredith and Christina.

"I was just about to say…" Christina begins.

"Spare me, Yang!" Dr. Bailey says. "Back to work everyone!"

"I would have gotten it," Christina whispers to Meredith.

"I'm going to take her to a private room for a few minutes, so we can monitor her," Derek says.

"I'm coming with her," Meredith says.

"I think Dr. Bailey will be expecting you back on rounds in a moment, Dr. Grey," Derek says.

"Well, then Dr. Bailey will be very disappointed," Meredith says, following the gurney in to a room.

Mark looks at Derek. "She told you!" he says, laughing.

Derek smiles. Meredith seems to be much less selfish in front of him. He must have taken everything he said to heart. However, he doesn't believe that her selflessness is completely genuine and not just for his benefit. Still…was a start.

Derek stands in the doorway, after Meredith has turned away from him and towards her friend.

"Iz…what happened?" she asks, pushing Izzy's hair out of her face.

"I-I-I don't know. All I know is that I went into the supply closet. He grabbed me, and put his hand over my mouth. Then he threatened me. He said something about how I didn't want to end up like some doctor back at Mount Sinai. All of a sudden, after I walked out in the hall, I couldn't breathe. I am so embarrassed. No matter how low of a profile I try to keep, I keep drawing attention to myself," Izzy says, shaking her head.

Meredith is quiet for a while. She hadn't told Callie yes or no yet. She had listened to her plan, and told her she had to think about it. She looked at the tears in Izzy's eyes, and noticed how the optimism seemed to be leaving Izzy, the Pollyanna of the group.

"Don't worry, Iz. He's not going to be here much longer. I promise…He'll be gone soon. Put your head down…get some rest." Meredith says.

Izzy put her head back and closes her eyes. "I am so tired, Mer. I just want to sleep forever," Izzy says.

Derek slips quietly out into the hallway, where Meredith runs into him as she leaves the room. She walks by him without even making eye contact.

"Meredith? I don't even get a hello anymore?" Derek asks.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Hello," she says, continuing on her path and unintentionally ignoring Derek.

(Break)

"Meredith will do it," Christina says.

"I don't think so. You should have seen her face. She was terrified. Let's be honest. The girl just doesn't have it in her." Callie says.

"You're wrong," Christina says, definitely.

"What makes you so sure?" Callie asks.

"It's simple. Meredith is all messed up. She has 'issues.' She doesn't value her own safety enough to say no. Unless you count the use of her surgical hands…I hope those don't get hurt…" Christina says.

"You two have a weird friendship…you know that?" Callie says.

"Don't judge me. You have no friends," Christina says, matter-of-factly and walks away.

"I'm in your damn wedding!" Callie calls back.

(Break)

"Callie, I'm in. Let's get this show on the road," Meredith says, breathlessly.

"Wow! I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you," Callie replies.

"So what's next?" Meredith asks.

"We need to plan every last detail. There can't be any mistakes," Callie says, ominously.


	13. Chapter 14

Miranda angrily storms into the chief's office

Miranda angrily storms into the chief's office.

"Richard! What were you thinking? Suspending Dr. Stevens? Are you crazy? If I didn't know better, I'd think you had never heard the terms 'gender discrimination' or 'sexual harassment!'" Miranda spews at the chief.

"Miranda, calm down. I did not suspend her. I simply said that she needs a note from a mental health professional stating that she is fit to work. She had an episode right here in our hospital. What if she had been caring for a patient?" Richard asks.

"And what about Dr. Talbot? What documentation does he need to continue his internship here?" Miranda asks.

"None. There are no charges filed against the man. He's simply been accused by your interns and their gossip. Two policemen came to his home and left with nothing. The man is innocent by our country's standards!" Richard says.

"Well, Dr. Stevens is innocent too, and she should be at work today," Miranda says, angrily.

"Miranda, I appreciate the time and effort that you put into your teaching. I assure you, that as soon as Dr. Stevens has documentation, she will be back on your service. Until then, why don't you focus on the rest of your interns," Richard says, calmly.

"I have never been so disappointed in anyone as I am in you right now, Richard," Miranda says, as she slams the door to his office.

(Break)

"I can't believe it! He rapes me and I'm the one who can't work?" Izzy says to Meredith.

"This is wrong. It's just wrong. I'll talk to Richard about it," Meredith says.

"Did you have any good surgeries this week? Because if you do, I'll take them," Christina says.

"Shut up, Christina!" Izzy snaps.

"Well someone has to do them…" Christina mutters.

"Listen, I have to get to the hospital, but I'll try to talk to the chief for you," Meredith says again.

"I have to go too. I'm doing a valve replacement," Christina says.

"Great. And I have to get to my rape support group. Anyone want to trade?" Izzy says.

There is an awkward silence until Christina says, "No. I never give up a cardiac surgery, no matter how routine," Christina says.

"Ugh!" Izzy says, getting in her car.

(Break)

Izzy walks awkwardly into the room full of women who are seated in a circle on folding chairs. _This looks like an AA meeting. This is so not fair that I have to be here. Do these women know I am an aspiring surgeon and don't have time for this? _Izzy thinks, bitterly.

Her negative thoughts are interrupted by a young girl bounding towards her.

"Dr. Stevens! What are you doing here? Remember me? You helped me at the clinic. You were right. My period came a few days after I saw you! Thank god!

Izzy recognizes Anna at once and says, "Oh my god. This is your support group…right…ummm…wow!"

"Are you okay, Dr. Stevens? Did you come to check up on me? Wow. That's really nice of you. I mean, I'm doing okay. Struggling with some issues surrounding the upcoming prom, but overall I'm okay," Anna says.

Izzy cannot believe this outgoing girl is the same shy young lady who was in her clinic such a short time ago.

"You seem happy, Anna," Izzy says.

"I am. I always feel good coming here. Like I'm around friends who really understand. So what are you doing here?" she asks.

"Well, I'm here for ummmm…" Izzy stumbles.

Just then, Anna understands.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I should have figured it out sooner. Is this your first support group?" Anna asks, concerned.

Izzy nods.

"The hardest part is the first time you tell the story. It's not like telling the police, because everyone is so warm and understanding that it almost makes it harder. I completely fell apart after my first meeting, but I felt better too…you know?" Anna says.

Izzy nods, not fully trusting her voice.

"You can sit next to me. I remember, that was the other thing that was hard for me the first time. I didn't know where to sit." Anna giggles.

"Thank you," Izzy says, impressed with the young girls insightfulness.

"I'm just going to go say hi to a few people. I'll be right back," Anna says.

Izzy nods again, numbly, wondering how she'll ever find the words to talk to all these strangers.

Everyone starts to sit down, and the leader says, "We're going to start in a minute. If anyone wants more coffee, I'll make some more."

A few people murmur nods of agreement that more coffee would be nice.

As the leader is making coffee, everyone finds a seat until a familiar voice rushes in breathlessly.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late. I got caught up at work and I…"

Her thoughts trail off as she and Izzy lock eyes.

_Oh my god! This day could not possibly get any worse. _Izzy thinks as they stare uncomfortably at each other.

The leader of the group smiles warmly.

"It's okay, Callie. We're just glad you made it," she says, smiling at Callie.

Callie looks at the circle of chairs. The only empty seat is on the other side of Izzy.

"She's a doctor too," Anna whispers to Izzy. "Maybe you guys will be friends."

"I know. We know each other from work," Izzy whispers back.

Callie sits down, and Izzy shifts, uncomfortably in her chair.

Callie is equally uncomfortable, but she remembers her first group meeting and leans over to Izzy and says, "Hi. I know this is really weird and awkward, but I'm glad you're here. I mean not for me. Believe me, I would rather you not be here, but for you. I think its good that you came. Oh, and don't ever tell anyone that I was here, or I'll kill you." Callie says, quickly.

Izzy is about to respond, but the group leader says, "Well, lets get the show on the road here. I notice we have a new member here. I'm Sara, and I was a victim of rape ten years ago. I'm also a social worker. I started this group so that people could have a safe place to come to talk about rape and violent assault. I know I didn't, and I could have used one. The way this works is that we begin with an open discussion where anyone can share. Then we move into a topic. Anything you say here is confidential, and no one will judge you," Sara explains.

Izzy nods politely, but thinks, _Yeah…I'm sure Callie won't judge me._

"Would anyone like to share anything?" Sara asks.

Anna puts her hand in the air. Sara nods at her.

"Remember Anna. It's not school, you don't have to raise your hand…" one of the women says, laughing.

Anna blushes. "Sorry. I always forget. I'm really trying to do well in school right now, so I guess that's kind of where my mind is. Anyway...I wanted to say that I'm feeling really good this week. I almost feel like myself again. I mean its weird, because it hasn't been that long, but I feel like I've stopped blaming myself, and I have even started hanging out with my friends again. I mean, I still won't go to the teen clubs with them, but I did go to the movies last weekend. Once I told my best friend about what happened, she was really cool about telling everyone that they should include me even though I've been blowing them off," Anna says.

"That's great!" Sara says. "You see…people will help you if you allow them to."

"But wait! The best part, is that I made a decision. I said yes to Matt. I'm going to go to prom with him!" Anna says. "I just have to get a second job to save for a dress!"

Everyone breaks out in big smiles and thunderous applause. It is obvious that everyone adores Anna and her youthful energy.

"That's wonderful Anna," Sara says. "I know you'll find something beautiful. Does anyone else want to share?"

Callie clears her throat. "This is really hard for me. I mean Izzy, our new group member and I know each other, and we've never liked each other. It's hard for me to be open with her here, but on the other hand, I'm glad she came, because I feel like everyone deserves the support that I've gotten," she says, purposely not looking at Izzy.

Sara looks at Izzy, "Welcome, Izzy. Would you like to say anything back to Callie?"

"You're not going to fight, are you?" Anna whispers to Izzy, worriedly.

There is something about the fear in the young girl's voice that makes Izzy feel like making peace with Callie.

"Callie, it's really hard for me to be here too. In a million years, I never thought you'd be here. I appreciate your honesty, and I promise, I will never disclose anything that you say here, if you'll do the same for me. Let's put the past behind us. I could use more friends than enemies right now," Izzy says.

Callie nods, stiffly.

Anna leans over to Callie. "You should probably give her a hug. That was really nice," she says.

Callie and Izzy both look at each other and at the same time they burst out laughing.

"I think we're okay with no hugging today," Izzy says.

"Yeah. I think we'll pass on the hug. How about we shake on it," Callie says.

The two doctors shake hands, as Sara says, "Good…we've resolved that. Now, Izzy, would you like to tell us a little about what brought you here?"

Izzy shakes her head.

"Remember…I told you…this is the hardest part. After you do this, you'll feel like you can do anything!" Anna whispers to her.

There is something about the young girl's wisdom, coupled with her innocence that makes Izzy unable to say no to her. She looks around the room at all the smiling faces.

_What the hell…_she thinks.

"Well, there was this guy…he works in the hospital with me. We went out on a few dates…" Izzy begins.

As she continues to tell her story, she feels the room reflecting each of her emotions which makes her feel them more strongly. She sees people shedding tears with her, as she tells of the night of her attack. As she finishes, she says, "So I guess I came here, because after the panic attack, my boss won't let me return to work without a note that I'm not crazy. But maybe it's more than that…maybe I do need to be here,"

Everyone claps, and as Izzy looks around the room, she can see that there are many women wiping tears from their eyes. Izzy brushes her own tears away, and gives a shaky smile. She glances at Callie, and notices that her eyes are glistening as well.

"Good job, Stevens," Callie whispers, putting her feelings for Izzy aside for a moment and thinking, _It's going to work. We're going to get him put behind bars._

"Thanks," Izzy whispers back. Her voice is still shaky.

"See? You did it. Don't you feel better?" Anna says.

Izzy takes a deep breath. She's not sure how she feels right now other than tired.

She sits back in her chair and closes her eyes for a moment. She feels someone squeeze her hand. When she opens her eyes, she realizes it is Callie. Izzy squeezes back, and closes her eyes again.

A few other women share their stories, and then Sara introduces the topic.

"Our topic today is dealing with anger after rape or sexual assault," Sara says.

Callie jumps in. "I've been so angry lately. I've been feeling so angry at everyone. I thought I was angry at my husband for ummm…all the stuff that went on that I told you all about, but I'm starting to realize that its more than that," Callie pauses for a moment, and Izzy blushes at the mention of her and George's affair.

"I'm just angry because I keep hearing stories of women who get raped and sexually assaulted and I feel like the men never get punished fairly. I mean remember when Anna's rapist was sentenced, and all of us were cheering that he got 10-15 years? Well, all I can think of is that Anna is only 15 years old. In 15 years, she'll be 30, and her sentence won't be over but his will. She'll still always remember that night. And here's Izzy, waiting for a note that she's not crazy. Believe me, I'd be the first to say she's a total nut job, but not for this. But that bastard is operating on people and hanging out with her friends. And then there's me…I never went to the police. I never told. I feel like I never got my revenge. I guess that's how I feel…I just want revenge," Callie says, angrily.

"And revenge can be a dangerous thought, because its important that we not allow the thoughts of revenge to consume our lives. How do we avoid this?" Sara asks.

An older lady with red hair joins in the discussion, "Do something productive that makes us feel good about ourselves. I started volunteering. I wanted to work at a rape crisis hotline, but my therapist and I decided that maybe I wasn't ready for that, so I decided to work at a general crisis hotline. I like it. I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile."

Everyone claps, and Sara says, "Good, Francine. That's an excellent idea,"

The discussion goes on for a while, and Izzy listens intently. She actually doesn't mind being there. It feels good to not have to be on and to be around people who understand what she is going through.

"Well, we're out of time for today. Thank you all for sharing. I'll see you all next week," Sara says.

Everyone lingers and talks to each other for a bit. Izzy is feeling pretty good, and she walks up to Callie.

"Hey, Callie. I just wanted to thank you again, for sharing your group with me," she says.

"Look, don't get all sappy on me. I had no idea that you'd be here, and I probably wouldn't have been as nice about it if I had time to think about it before hand, but I'm glad it worked out for you. Again, if you tell anyone about me, I'll kill you. Even George doesn't know…" Callie says.

"Not a word," Izzy says, sincerely.

"Bye Dr. Stevens! It was good to see you again!" Anna says, rushing out the door.

"Wow! You're in a rush, Anna," Izzy says.

"I have to run! I go to work straight from here. Then I have to figure out what I'm going to do about that second job so I can pay for prom. See you next week!" Anna says as she rushes out the door.

"That kid works hard. She's always rushing off to work," Callie says.

"She's a great kid," Izzy says.

The two women seem to have run out of things to say to each other, so they stand in awkward silence for a moment and then mumble a quick goodbye.

As Callie gets in her car she picks up her cell phone, and calls Christina.

"Did you set it up?" she asks her.

"Yes. And I almost fell off the ladder. If I break my arm and can't operate, I'm holding you responsible," Christina says.

"If you break your arm, I'll fix it. Just make sure it's set up correctly!"

"It is. I never make mistakes, Callie," Christina says, and she hangs up the phone.

(Break)

Meredith finishes her rounds. She struggles to concentrate. She's nervous since agreeing to Callie's plan, but she thinks it can work. The question is, can she really pull it off.

_No time like the present to find out…_she thinks.

"Dr. Talbot. I have a question for you!" she calls down the hallway as she sees him approaching.

"Dr. Grey! What a pleasure to see you. Ask me anything…" he says.

"I have this case…I ummm…am not sure I diagnosed it correctly. Before I run it by Bailey, I wanted your opinion," Meredith asks.

"My opinion? I'm afraid I won't be much help. I'm a first year, just like you," Meredith says.

"Yes, but the chief speaks so highly of you. He says you are going to be an excellent diagnostician," she says, as she lightly touches his arm.

He eyes her hand on his arm and says, "Well, that's quite flattering. Let me see the case and we'll see if he's right,"

Just then, Meredith realizes, she hasn't brought any of her charts with her. Her mind goes blank and she can't even think of a hypothetical case.

"Ummmm…it's a man…a man with a swollen face," she says, cringing as she says it.

"A swollen face? Was there any trauma?" he asks.

"Ummm…no…its just swollen," Meredith says, nervously.

"Just swollen. That's interesting," Palmer says, pondering her information, or lack thereof.

"Okay…look, there's no case. I made that up," Meredith says, knowing she was treading dangerously.

"Why would you fabricate a case?" Palmer asks.

"Well…I guess I just wanted to talk to you. Palmer, I'm sorry…I haven't made you feel welcome. I got caught up in Izzy's story and I never gave you a chance. Richard and I are close, and he told me your family means a lot to him. If he trusts you, I can too and I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry that I wasn't more welcoming during your first few weeks here," Meredith says.

"Well thank you Dr. Grey. I appreciate that very much…" Palmer says.

"I think we should get together one night, to bury the hatchet," Meredith says.

"Sounds wonderful. Let's check our schedules and talk tomorrow," Palmer says.

_Perfect…_Meredith thinks.


	14. Chapter 15

"Dr

"Dr. Grey!" Palmer calls down the hallway.

"Dr. Talbot," she says, smiling her friendliest smile.

"This week is a bit busy for me, but I'd love to take you up on your idea for the two of us to go to dinner. Would next week be suitable?" he asks, politely.

Meredith cringes inwardly at both his formal speech and the idea of spending the evening with him however, she is determined to do this for her friend.

"Let me check my schedule. We will definitely work something out. I just don't know my hours for next week," she says.

"Thank you, Dr. Grey," Palmer says.

"No. Thank YOU, Dr. Talbot," she replies, running her hand seductively along his arm.

At that moment, Derek walks by and sees her. When Palmer walks away, Derek approaches Meredith.

"What are you doing?" he asks, angrily.

Meredith freezes. This was the part she never thought of when she agreed to Callie's plan. She never thought of what everyone would think of her until everything was over. Only Callie and Christina would understand. Everyone else would think she was a traitor to Izzy, and that she was rebounding too quickly from Derek.

"Derek! What do you mean?" Meredith says, fakely.

"You know, I thought you really were taking what I said to heart. I have seen everything you've done for Izzy, and I thought that you were really becoming less selfish. But the truth is, you are still only out for what's best for Meredith. Here you are…like a kid in a candy store, picking out your newest flavor. Good luck to the two of you. It looks like you deserve each other," he says.

Meredith's heart sinks, and she considers telling Derek everything, but she stops herself. Callie had told her that the more people that knew the plan, the more danger she'd be putting herself in. If Palmer suspected anything…

"You know what Derek, you didn't want me, and I found someone who does. I don't owe you any explanations," she says nonchalantly.

"You're more selfish that I ever imagined," he says.

The words hit Meredith like a ton of bricks.

"Wait! Derek!" she calls as he walks away.

He turns around.

"You won't say anything to Izzy…" she says, pleadingly. She was hoping Izzy wouldn't find out her plan until the last moment.

"No. I wouldn't dream of it. That poor girl has been through enough. Let her continue to be deluded that you are a person worth being friends with," Derek says, angrily as he walks away.

Meredith sighs. These next few weeks were going to be awful. She hoped this was going to be over soon.

"Hey, Meredith! I hear you are going out with Palmer! I guess you're over Izzy's crazy story about the guy?" Alex says as he snaps her out of her thoughts.

Meredith braces herself. She is tired already. "Yes. He seems like a nice guy. I haven't been very welcoming. I think the world of Richard, and if Richard says he's a good guy, then he must be," Meredith says.

"I'll tell you…he's a great guy. He just gave me his set of golf clubs. You know what those things are worth? I mean…wow! I don't usually want friends, but I could almost call this guy a friend!" Alex says.

"That's great, Alex. Remember when Izzy was your friend?"

"Stevens hasn't been my friend since she dated O'Malley. Come on. A married guy…and O'MALLEY? Gross," he says.

"Wow. You're so loyal," Meredith says, sarcastically.

"Who are you to throw stones? You're going on a date with the guy! You don't believe her either!" Alex says.

"She's still my friend," Meredith says, defensively.

"Yeah. Tell her that," Alex says, sarcastically.

(Break)

Christina and Callie approach Meredith.

"Everything's set on our end here. As long as Christina set everything up right," Callie says.

"I told you. I never make mistakes. It's perfect. I was a computer science major in addition to pre-med. I had a 4.0 in that too," Christina says, matter-of-factly.

"Well…now we just have to pick a date," Callie says.

They all pull out their calendars.

"We need the chief, Christina, Preston, George, Palmer, Izzy, and the three of us to all be off at the same time," Callie says.

"When's that ever going to happen?" Meredith asks.

"I'll make it happen. Bailey doesn't need to be there. She can work," Callie says.

"I want Derek and Alex there too," Meredith says.

"Why do they need to be there?" Callie asks.

"She wants her McDreamy to see what an unselfish hero she is," Christina says.

"That's not true," Meredith snaps. "Derek wouldn't miss a party for Preston, and Alex never believed Izzy, so I want him to see it with his own eyes."

"Somebody's a little touchy today…" Christina mumbles.

"Sloan should be there too, for the same reason as Derek. He wouldn't miss a party for Preston," Callie says.

"Well, someone needs to be working," Christina says. "The chief will never go for it otherwise."

"Addison can work. She doesn't need to be there," Callie says.

"So, Bailey and Addison will be running the whole hospital? We're going to need more staff." Christina says.

"What if the hospital had no ambulances coming in?" Callie asks.

"And it was a Saturday night, so no major surgeries were scheduled? I hate Saturday nights here. They are so quiet." Callie says.

"How are you going to avoid people coming to the ER?" Meredith asks.

"I have a friend on the paramedics team. I'll make sure all ambulances go to Mercy that night,"

"I thought you don't have any friends," Christina says.

"Maybe you thought wrong," Callie replies.

(Break)

Izzy is sitting at home, flipping through a few of Christina's bridal magazine's that she left at the house. She misses being at work, but acknowledges that the time off has been good for her. She is enjoying the down time and the fact that she doesn't need to be "on" all the time.

Meredith walks in the door.

"How was your day?" Izzy asks.

"Awful," Meredith says.

"What's wrong?" Izzy asks, glad to be on the listening end for a change. She feels like Meredith has been there for her consistently and she wants to return the favor.

"Derek and I had a fight, I'm in over my head with a ummmm….project…at work, and I haven't eaten since breakfast," Meredith says, careful not to say too much.

Izzy closes the magazine. "I feel like getting out. Let's go grab dinner. I could go for pizza."

Meredith smiles. "Sounds good to me,":

(Break)

As they wait for their pizza, Izzy tells Meredith about the support group, leaving out the fact that Callie was present. Meredith listens and asks questions, trying not to seem too distracted.

As their pizza arrives at the table, both of them place two slices on their plates.

"Stevens! Grey!" Alex calls out.

"Wow! Alex…I didn't expect to see you here," Meredith says.

"And I didn't expect to see you two here…together. I thought Stevens would have freaked out on you by now…" Alex says.

"What do you mean?" Izzy says, looking from Alex to Meredith.

"Nothing, Iz. He means nothing," she says, glaring at Alex.

"Ohhhhh. I get it. You never told Stevens about your hot date with Talbot? Wow…the plot thickens! I'll leave you two to your lunch," Alex says, laughing.

"What?" Izzy says, staring at Meredith. "Please. Just tell me it isn't true. Tell me he is the biggest liar on this planet and that there is no truth to what he just said. Please, Meredith," she begs.

"Izzy, just listen to me…" Meredith says.

"It's a yes or no question, Meredith. Are you going out with him?" Izzy asks, coldly.

"Yes, but its…" Meredith's voice trails off as she realizes she doesn't know what to say. Izzy will know soon enough, but the next week is going to be horrendous for both of them.

"I can't stay here. I can't be here anymore," Izzy says.

"At least let me drive you home," Meredith says.

"I will not let you do anything for me ever again. You were the one person who was there for me that night. The one person who I trusted with everything…my most vulnerable moments…everything. I thought you were my friend. You're not. You are everything Derek said you were. You are selfish, thoughtless, and above all really stupid. You can choose to not believe me, but you saw what I looked like that night. You want to be his next victim, go ahead. But don't ever say I didn't warn you, and don't EVER call yourself my friend again," Izzy practically spits before she storms outside.

_Izzy…I'm sorry I have to hurt you right now, but I promise, in the end, you'll see that I'm your friend. I promise. _Meredith thinks, as she watches her friend storm off.

Izzy stands outside. It is raining and the rain hits her face and mixes with her tears. Without thinking, she takes out her cell phone.

"George?" she sobs, "I need you."

"Where are you, Iz? I'll be right there," he says.


	15. Chapter 16

"Dude, a Jack and Jill shower

"Dude, a Jack and Jill shower? Seriously. You're not going, are you?" Alex says to Mark.

"I know. It's quite possibly the least manly thing I've ever done. But Derek says we have to go. Something about it being the right thing to do?" Mark replies.

"Well tell your girlfriend, Derek to get his hair done and wear a pretty dress!" Alex sneers at Mark.

"You'll go, Karev, for the simple reason that you'll have nothing better to do. You're not on the schedule and you have no dates. Everyone will be there, and you'll want to be in on the action," Mark sneers back.

Derek walks up to the two of them. "Hey, Sloan, why don't we let Karev scrub in with us today on that skull reconstruction,"

Alex looks so eager that he's practically salivating.

"Oh wait…I think we'll skip that surgery. I have to make a hair appointment and go dress shopping. Sorry Karev," Derek says as he and Mark slap each other five.

"Whatever. See you at the shower, ladies," Alex says.

"Sloan, you're going to the shower…right?" Derek asks.

"Yeah. You said I have to," Mark replies.

Derek leans in and says, "What do we do at a shower? Do we have to like bring anything?"

"Beats me. No guy I know has ever had a shower before. Let's ask someone who might know..." Mark says, motioning towards George.

"O'Malley…can we ask you something?" Derek says.

"Sure," George replies.

"What goes on at a wedding shower? I mean Preston and Christina…" Mark says.

"I don't know. I grew up on a farm. When a guy got married you got drunk and tipped over a cow. I don't know what we have to do. I don't know what Callie was thinking, planning this!" George says.

"Callie planned this? I thought Meredith was the maid of honor and would plan Christina's shower," Derek says.

"Nah…Callie said something about Meredith being too busy and Izzy being too stressed, so she was going to do it," George said. "Anyway, rumor is that the chief is letting everyone attend as long as they bring their pagers."

"I'm kind of curious. I say we go." Mark says.

"I'm in. Got nothing else going on," Derek says.

"Awww, stop moping, Shepherd! It's pathetic," Mark says, giving him a playful punch.

"O'Malley, are you in?" Derek says.

"I have to. My wife planned it," George says.

"If we're all going, Karev's going," Mark says. "We're not letting him hold it over us that we went to a bridal shower and he didn't!"

"Okay then…everyone's in. See you there boys," Derek says.

(Break)

"I'm not going," Izzy says.

"You have to go. You're my bridesmaid. Callie is making me have a stupid shower, and you're going to be there," Christina says.

"I don't want to see Meredith," Izzy says.

Christina sighs, a dramatic sigh. "Izzy, I don't say this enough, but your friendship means a lot to me. I mean, you're a really, really, really good friend. I know Meredith is my person and all, but I couldn't have my shower without you," she says, hoping Izzy will buy it.

Izzy snorts. "You've done nothing but try to steal my surgeries. Granted, you've been great about hating Palmer, but you've never been that interested in my friendship…why now?"

"Oh come on. Don't make me beg. Just come…okay?" Christina says, sounding more like Christina.

"I'll think about it." Izzy says.

(Break)

Izzy walks into her support group and sits next to Callie. She puts her pocketbook on the seat next to her to save the seat for Anna.

"Is it okay that I sit here?" Izzy asks Callie, nervously.

"Of course," Callie says, warmly. "I wanted to talk to you, anyway. I wanted to tell you that I hope you'll come to Christina's shower. I'll be there, George will be there, Christina will be there, and I did not invite Palmer. He's the only one in the whole hospital who is not invited."

Izzy is taken aback at how nice Callie is being to her.

"Okay…I'll be there. Thanks Callie," she says smiling.

Anna bounds into the room energetically.

"I'm so happy!" she squeals.

"Why?" Izzy and Callie ask in unison.

"I finally got a second job. I'm working midnight to 6am at the Stop and Shop near my house. It's near my waitressing job, so when I get off at 9pm I can just kill a few hours and do some homework before I start again," Anna says, excitedly.

"That's a lot of hours for you…isn't it? Are you sure you'll be able to keep up that pace?" Callie says.

"Yeah. I don't mind working. Besides, this way, I can go to prom, still save for college, and maybe even eventually have enough to buy a car. I hate taking the bus everywhere," Anna says. She pauses for a moment, "I am excited about prom. It feels so…I don't know…normal."

Izzy thinks back to her own high school years and the fact that she never got to go to prom.

"I hope you have the best time, Anna. It's still a few months away. You'll be able to save enough," Izzy tells her.

Sara motions for everyone to take a seat.

"Does anyone have anything they'd like to share?" Sara says.

Suddenly, Izzy feels like she is exploding. She needs to talk.

"I need to talk to someone. Anyone…I feel like al my friends have turned against me. I mean, George, he's my best friend. He's my person, the one who's always been there for me…he started hanging out with the bastard. I mean, he stopped and he apologized, but I still feel…I don't know…like he betrayed me in the worst way. But then, the other night, he was there for me when I needed him…" Izzy is talking fast, and almost incoherently. Sara interrupts her.

"Why did you need him?" Sara asks.

"I needed him because my friend, Meredith, the one who has been there for me since the moment it happened, is going on a date with the guy. She didn't tell me…I found out from someone else. I have never felt so betrayed in my life. I feel like no one believes me…and there's no one I can turn to. Like at night…I'm so scared to fall asleep because sometimes I dream about that night and there's no one to talk to when I wake up so scared. I can't do this alone…I just can't. I'm tired of being alone…I'm just so tired," Izzy says.

Callie shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

Sara looks at Izzy. "You're not alone. You have everyone in this room. We all understand what you've been through. And we all believe you. Sometimes, you have to reach out and tell people what you need."

"I need to feel like myself again. I'm a positive person. I enjoy making other people feel good. I like to help people. I like being a doctor. I am a good friend to everyone. I don't understand why my friends have abandoned me right now!" Izzy says.

"Maybe your friends haven't abandoned you. Maybe it seems that way, but maybe they really do believe you and just can't show it right now," Callie says.

Izzy regards her for a moment. "I don't think so," she says, sadly shaking her head.

Fran addresses Izzy and says, "Remember last week, when I talked about doing good for others and how it helped me? Maybe that's what you need to do in order to feel like yourself," she says.

"I'll think about it," Izzy says, dejectedly.

Anna stands up. "You just need a hug," she says, wrapping her arms around Izzy.

Izzy is so taken aback at the gesture of kindness that she breaks down into tears. She sobs into this girl's arms who although she is half Izzy's age, seems to have twice her wisdom.

(Break)

Meredith approaches Palmer. "So, I checked my schedule. What do you think about Saturday night?"

"I'm working Saturday night…" Palmer says.

"So am I. But the chief is giving everyone off to go to Christina and Preston's wedding shower. I was thinking we could make an appearance, and cut out early, and have our own little party…what do you think?" she asks.

"Well, this is a bit uncomfortable. I wasn't invited," Palmer says.

Meredith feigns surprise at his revelation. "I can't believe that! I told Callie to invite you! She must have given Izzy the list, and she must have...wow…I'm so embarrassed. I'm really sorry," she says.

Palmer shakes his head. "Not at all…not a problem…I'm not much for parties anyway. Why don't you go, and then I'll meet you outside the hospital by the clinic," Palmer says.

"Sounds perfect. I'll just make a short appearance and then disappear," Meredith says, her heart racing.


	16. Chapter 17

Izzie lies in bed, debating whether or not to close her eyes

Izzie lies in bed, debating whether or not to close her eyes. She feels safer with them open, but knows that sleep will not overtake her until she gives in.

She decides on a compromise with herself and gets up and turns on the light. She feels safer with the lights on.

Meredith comes home. She opens the door quietly so as not to wake Izzy if she is sleeping. Meredith hears Izzy toss and turn every night, but she avoids going in there since their argument. She wishes she could go in there and tell Izzy that its okay…she's still on her side, but she knows that Izzy will understand everything soon enough.

She sees the light on in Izzy's room. She can't resist opening the door just a bit to peek in and see if Izzy is sleeping. Izzy jumps as the door creaks.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if you were asleep," Meredith stammers.

"I'm not," Izzy says, flatly.

"Iz…I-I…" Meredith begins but then trails off, not knowing what to say.

"Please don't say anything," Izzy says, in the same flat tone.

Meredith sighs. "Okay," she says, getting up to leave.

Izzy debates asking her to stay. She gets so scared at night, and as angry as she is at Meredith, she wants someone there. She opens her mouth and begins to say something.

"What?" Meredith says.

"Nothing," Izzy replies.

"Okay…well…goodnight," Izzy says.

Meredith sits down in the living room and picks up a magazine. Alex walks into the room.

"What are you still doing up?" Alex asks her.

"I can't sleep. Izzy hates me, and I'm nervous about…" Meredith stops before she says too much.

"About what?" Alex says.

"About Christina's shower tomorrow. I hope we have enough food," Meredith says, trying to keep the conversation light.

"I can't believe you're making the guys go to this. And I can't believe the chief is okay with it. Oh…and while we're at it…I can't believe you would have a party for your best friend in the hospital. Get out once in a while…" Alex says.

"Yes…well…that's how we are going to get Preston and Christina there. The chief is going to call them both down and when they get to his office, we'll all be there and yell 'surprise!'" Meredith says, realizing how ridiculous she sounds.

"Wow. Don't ever throw me a party…okay?" Alex says.

"Don't worry…"Meredith says.

(Break)

Callie and Christina sit in the on call room going over the plan.

"You have to act surprised. Then look around and say, 'where's Meredith'" Callie reminds her.

"Yeah. You've told me like 80 times. Do you want me to write my line on my hand in case I remember it? Where's….ummmm…damn! I can't remember the second word!"

Christina says, sarcastically.

"Will you get serious?" Callie snaps. "This has to work!"

"Why are you so invested in this?" Christina asks. "You hate Izzy."

"She's George's best friend. This has taken a toll on my husband. I care about George. And I don't hate her. I just resent what she did to my marriage. But things are getting better. Things are going to be okay between us," Callie says.

_And I remember what it feels like to be in her shoes. To not be able to get his scent off me, and to feel like you can't go on until justice is served, yet knowing that it never will be. I want justice served for somebody…even if it can't be me._

"Whatever…I just want to get this guy out of here so I can have all my good surgeries back," Christina says.

"Just humor me. You ask where Meredith is, and then you get all worried and you say you are going to go find her," Callie says.

"At which point, I switch it on. I know. I told you, I don't make mistakes. I don't forget things," Christina says, confidently.

"Good. Because if this doesn't work, I'll make sure you're on ortho rotation for the rest of the year," Callie retorts.

"Get over yourself. You're not even chief resident anymore," Christina says.

Callie is silent. "Just go over it again tonight. There is a lot of room for error."

"The one you need to talk to is Meredith. She gets all nervous and stuff. I don't…I'm a robot," Christina states once again.

"Don't worry, Grey and I will go over everything again." Callie says.

(Break)

Meredith picks up the phone, dials Callie's number and begins leaving a message on her voice mail, "Callie, its Meredith. I need to go over the plan once more…I think there are some holes we need to fill in…"

Callie calls her back immediately.

"Grey…listen carefully. I'll go over your part again. You come to the shower as though its normal. You set everything up in the clinic before. That's important. Everything has to be ready. You're going to meet him at 9pm. The party will start at 8. You'll need to act normal for an hour,"

"I'm never normal…" Meredith jokes. Her joke falls flat.

"At 8:55 you slip out to meet him. Christina will turn everything on by about 9:30pm but you're on your own until 10:00pm. That's when my cousin will arrive with the rest of the troops. Can you handle yourself for that long?"

"I hope so…" Meredith says, nervously.

"I hope so too. We can't screw this up." Callie says half to Meredith and half to herself.


	17. Chapter 18

Meredith smells bacon cooking as she wakes up

Meredith smells bacon cooking as she wakes up. _Today is the day_, she thinks.

"Good morning, Iz," she says, trying to sound normal. She tries to take a piece of bacon. Izzy knocks it out of her hand.

"You don't get to eat my bacon," Izzy says.

Meredith sighs. _It's going to be a long day…_she thinks.

"I put together the wishing well for Christina's shower last night," Izzy says, without looking at Meredith.

"Great," Meredith says, distractedly.

"I'm still mad at you, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to consider you a friend again, but I have to say this. You were there for me that night. I appreciate that. And I just hope you'll be careful tonight. No matter how mad I am at you, I don't wish what happened to me on you," Izzy says, without looking at Meredith.

"I'm still there for you, Iz. Anytime you need me, or decide to let me in again, I'm here. And I hope you'll consider me a friend again," Meredith says, calmly, knowing that after tonight, Izzy would understand.

"Just be careful," Izzy says, sounding more concerned than she intended to.

"Anyway...I better get going, I have a lot to do before the…ummm….shower," Meredith says, hurrying off.

Izzy eats her breakfast, wondering when food will taste good again. Nothing seems to bring her pleasure anymore. The phone rings, and startles Izzy out of her thoughts.

"Hello?" Izzy says.

"Hello, may I speak to Izzy, please? This is Sara."

"Sara. This is Izzy. How are you?"

"Very well. How are you doing? I like to check in with my new group members after a few weeks," Sara explains.

"Thank you for checking in. I'm doing alright. Nights are hard, but during the day, I'm alright. I think I'd be better if I could get back to work." Izzy says.

"Well, that's why I'm calling, Izzy. I received paperwork from Seattle Grace, asking if you are fit to return to work…I see no reason why..." Sara begins.

"Thank you!" Izzy exclaims. "I can't wait to get back. Sitting around is killing me. I feel like I'm losing valuable time…and I…" Izzy is interrupted by Sara.

"I see no reason why not, except that your rapist works in the same building as you. I feel it is unsafe for you to be in that environment, both mentally and physically. I can't in good conscience suggest that you go back there under those circumstances." Sara explains, matter-of-factly.

"So what are you saying?" Izzy says.

"I'm saying that my papers will say that you are mentally fit to do your job, but that as long as Palmer Talbot is working at that location, I cannot recommend you begin working there again." Sara says, knowing Izzy will not be pleased with her answer.

"You know…the world is so backwards. I'm the good guy here! Why does he get to keep my friends, my job and my life? Why?" Izzy says.

"Izzy, I'm sorry." Sara says.

"You're sorry…everyone's sorry…but no one can help me," Izzy says. "Thanks for calling. You did your job. Too bad, I can't do mine," Izzy says, and hangs up the phone.

(Break)

Meredith hangs up the shower decorations in the chief's office.

"Meredith!" Richard says. "Good to see you," he says.

"You too," Meredith says distantly. She is still angry about the chief not believing Izzy.

"Meredith, I need to talk to you. I, umm, something's been brought to my attention, and I…well…I need to share it with you, under the current circumstances," Richard says, awkwardly.

"Meredith, I swore to your mother that I'd always protect you…" Richard begins.

"And I told you that I don't need protecting. What's this about?" Meredith says, defensively.

"The rumor around the hospital is that you have a date tonight with Palmer…" Richard says.

"Which I figured you would be quite happy about, given your high opinion of him," Meredith smiles, smugly.

"Well…Ummm…I just came across some information. It's about his departure from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York," Richard begins.

"What about it?" Meredith asks, her heart racing.

"There was a doctor…her name was Dr. Mansfield. Supposedly, she and Palmer had a ummm…relationship," the chief begins.

"You said 'was'" Meredith observes.

"What?"

"Was. Her name _was _Dr. Mansfield. Past tense. It implies that she doesn't have a name anymore. What happened to her?" Meredith asks.

"No one knows. She accused him of a sexual assault. Things got a bit messy and then she supposedly disappeared," the chief says, sounding like he is thinking out loud.

"Supposedly?" Meredith says.

"Yes…there was talk of foul play ummm… on Palmer's part. His father worked hard to hush the whole thing up…" Richard says.

"You knew this? You knew this when I came to you? You knew this and still acted like Izzy was a crazy person? What is wrong with you?" Meredith says.

"Of course not! What kind of a person do you think I am? His father told me that Mount Sinai wasn't giving him the opportunities he wanted. He asked me if I could help him out and place him here. Of course, I said yes. But after all the talk with Stevens, when I heard you were going out with him next….well…I decided to do a little research," Richard explains.

Meredith thinks for a moment. She could tell the chief about the plan, but with his tendency towards overprotection of her, he would probably put a stop to it, and they may never get Palmer behind bars. No…she had to stick with the plan.

"Richard, that is the silliest thing I ever heard. I am a big girl, and I'll date who I want. I assure you, I won't be 'disappearing' any time soon," Meredith says, flippantly.

"Meredith…please. Don't do this just to get back at me for not believing Stevens," Richard says.

"Don't give yourself too much credit. You're not my father and I'm not rebelling against you like a teenager. I like him. I find him attractive, and I can take care of myself," Meredith says as she storms out of the office.

Meredith slips into a closet and breaths deeply. Christina enters the closet after her.

"Okay. I have 10 minutes until I have to be in a completely amazing surgery where I am going to get to stop a man's heart and restart it again. I love to do that. But in the meantime, I saw you storm out of the chief's office, and I figured as your person I am supposed to follow you and ask if you're okay or something," Christina says.

"How touching," Meredith replies.

"So are you? You know…okay?" Christina says.

"Yeah…I guess," Meredith replies.

"Okay, see…Meredith, I don't have time for you to be all dark and twisty. I have 8 minutes now," Christina says, impatiently.

"Fine. Palmer made some girl disappear after it she made accusations against him. If this whole thing goes wrong tonight, I'll probably be his next victim. I think I may actually be starting to value my life because I actually care whether I live or die tonight. I think I'm scared. I don't want to do this, but I have to for Izzy. I feel like the poor girl has gone through so much, as her friend, I owe her this much. Now good luck on your surgery," Meredith says, barely breathing between sentences.

"I still have 6 minutes. I lost you at that part about your feelings about poor Izzy. I don't speak girl, but I got the part about Palmer being a deranged psycho who may have killed someone. Don't do this…we'll find another way. Don't do it," Christina says.

"I have to do this. I can't back out now," Meredith says.

"Why? So you can show Derek how unselfish you are? Seriously? Let it go, Meredith! Just let it go!" Christina says.

"You know what? This isn't about Derek. Not everything in my life revolves around Derek. You weren't there that night. You didn't find Izzy on the floor in the state she was in. You don't hear her crying every night. If you did, you'd understand why I have to do this. This monster needs to be out of everyone's lives for good," Meredith says.

Christina looks at her watch. "4 minutes," she says, for lack of a response.

"You all think my world revolves around proving to Derek that I'm an unselfish person. You know what? I'm done proving myself to him. I'm finished. Here I am…just Meredith. I'm not perfect, but I'm not going to justify myself to anyone anymore. I just want to get this night over with," she says.

"2 minutes. This is my last word on the situation. Be careful. I…I…just…don't want to….I mean…forget it. I have to go. My 2 minutes are up," Christina says, running out of the closet.

"Fine! But you had 1 minute and 30 seconds left!" Meredith calls after her.

(Break)

Izzy sits in the living room, trying to decide what to do next. She tries not to think about how she would like to be at work. She wonders if there is something she could do for the shower tonight to take her mind off everything. She settles on baking some more cookies. She gets up to get the ingredients together, when the phone rings.

"Hello?" Izzy says.

"Hey Iz. It's me. I just wanted to know if you wanted Callie and I to pick you up before the shower tonight. I figured you might want a friend, seeing as you haven't been back at the hospital in a while, and Callie said it was okay and everything so…" George says.

Izzy's first response is to push him away, but she stops herself. She knows it will be hard for her to see everyone tonight, so she readily accepts.

"Thanks George. Tell Callie, thanks." she says.

"Sure," he says, and pauses. "How are you doing?"

"Okay…lonely…but okay," he says.

"Well, We'll pick you up later. I miss you, Iz," he says.

"I miss me too," she says, sadly.

(Break)

Callie picks up her phone and leaves a message for her cousin.

"Hey Justin. It's your favorite cousin. Thanks for putting the force on this one tonight. You know I never ask you a favor unless it's important. This one is. Please make sure everyone is on time. We have this planned to a science, and any change in plans could be dangerous…thanks," Callie says.

(Break)

Callie and Izzy sit next to each other at their group. Izzy struggles to make conversation.

"So, we're all set for tonight?" Izzy says.

"What? Oh yeah. The shower…yeah. We're all set," Callie says.

"Do you think Christina will be surprised?" Izzy asks.

Callie shrugs. "I think so. I hope so…" she says, distractedly.

There is an awkward pause in conversation. Izzy tries to break the silence.

"I haven't seen Anna today. I wonder if she's coming," Izzy says.

"She never misses…she'll be here," Callie says.

"Good. Umm…thanks for giving me a ride tonight. I appreciate it," Izzy says.

"You're welcome," Callie says.

The group begins, and Izzy and Callie both look around, noting Anna's absence.

(Break)

"Surprise!" everyone yells as Christina and Preston walk into the chief's office.

"What?" Preston says.

"Oh my god! Is this my shower?" Christina says, a bit too excitedly.

Callie gives her a look and whispers "Tone it down!"

Christina glares at her. "Oh my god! Meredith! Did you do all of this for me? I love you!" Christina gushes.

"Oh…don't thank me. Callie and Izzy did a lot of the work too," Meredith says as Christina throws her arms around Meredith.

"What's with her?" Izzy asks. "She's never this…I don't know…perky. It's kind of freaking me out!"

"Thank you for doing all of this," Preston says to everyone in the room.

"You're welcome," Meredith says, graciously, as she discreetly looks at her watch. It is 8:05. She has fifty minutes until she is supposed to leave.

"Oh my god! Look at all these decorations! I love pretty wedding things. This is beautiful. Thank you so much everyone!" Christina squeals, awkwardly.

Preston gives her a strange look, but is happy with her enthusiasm.

George walks over to Izzy.

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm okay. It feels good to be back in the hospital. I miss being here," she says.

"I miss having you here," he says.

She doesn't respond. As much as she appreciates George's support right now, she remembers that she didn't feel it from the beginning and has not completely forgiven him.

Alex walks in with Mark and Derek.

"This is quite possibly the least masculine thing we could be doing right now," Alex whispers to Mark who nods in agreement.

Derek overhears and says, "A real man can attend a shower with no problem. But if you're not comfortable…" he says, smiling at them.

Mark hits him playfully. "Shut up," he says.

Alex looks around. "So what do we do here?"

"You watch them open their presents and talk to people. Be social," Derek says.

Alex and Mark turn to look at him with a quizzical look.

"How many of these things have you been to?" Mark asks him.

Derek doesn't answer. He's busy looking at Meredith.

(Break)

Palmer gets ready for his date with Meredith.

_I like this Meredith Grey. She's a challenge. There's something dark about her…a secret or a past…something I want to know. She's going to need me…and I'm going to take her. Maybe forever…_he thinks as he takes another sip of scotch from his flask.

(Break)

Meredith nervously glances at her watch. 8:45. Ten more minutes. She looks around, knowing that she has to make a quiet exit, yet give an explanation for her absence so no one is looking for her. As she mentally prepares to do that, Derek approaches her.

"Dr. Grey," he says formally.

"Dr. Shepherd," she replies, with a curt, yet polite nod.

"Oh my god! A food processor! Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much!" Christina screeches as Callie glares at her.

"Preston, sweetie! We can put this next to the espresso machine! I can't wait to use everything! Oh my god!" Christina says, overly excited.

Callie comes over and gives her a fake hug, whispering in her ear, "What are you doing? What is wrong with you?"

"What? I needed to know how to act at a shower, so I watched a few episodes of Bridezillas," Christina whispers back before turning back to her guests. "I just love everything! I hope I get a blender! That would make everything perfect!"

"Christina seems to be enjoying herself," Derek says.

"Yes. I think she is," Meredith replies, glancing at her watch. 8:50pm. She needs to make her exit.

"How has Izzy been?" Derek asks.

"Fine, I think. I haven't seen her much lately," Meredith shrugs.

"Really? I thought you two were such great friends after everything that happened," Derek says.

_Let him think what he wants,_ Meredith thinks to herself, _I'm done proving myself to him._

"Yeah, well, I've been busy. In fact, I have to get going. This shower is going on way too long. You know, cutting into MY life. It's all about me, you know…" she says, walking away from him.

_She'll never change…_Derek thinks.

Meredith goes over to Christina. "Wish me luck," she whispers.

"If you die, I'm going to be so mad I won't even restart your heart," Christina whispers back.

Meredith looks over at Callie who motions for her to go.

Izzy sees Meredith leave and looks at Christina.

"Where is Meredith going? Isn't she like your Maid of Honor?" Izzy asks Christina.

"Don't get all dramatic. She had plans," Christina replies.

"Izzy! Can you help me with the cake?" Callie calls, trying to distract her.

George watches Izzy and Callie unwrapping the cake. He says to the chief who happens to be sitting next to him, "Looks like my two girls are finally getting along."

"That's good, O'Malley…" Richard says, distractedly. He has just watched Meredith leave and is worried about her after their last discussion.

"Preston darling…I just need to step outside for a moment. It's a little overwhelming getting so many fabulous kitchen items at once!" Christina says.

Preston looks at her strangely as she slips outside.

Christina turns on the switch, counts to ten and walks back inside. She nods at Callie who crosses her fingers behind her back.

_Please…let this work, _she thinks.


	18. Chapter 19

Meredith waits outside the hospital

Meredith waits outside the hospital. She runs her hand across her pocketbook to make sure what she needs is there. She takes a deep breath. _Here goes nothing, _she thinks.

She sees his expensive car pull up to the hospital. He gets out of the car holding flowers. Meredith notices that he stumbles a little bit when he gets out of the car.

_He's already drunk…_she thinks.

"Dr. Grey!" he calls.

Meredith puts on her best smile and says, "Dr. Talbot,"

He hands her the flowers. "Thank you," she says, tensely.

"You look nervous, Dr. Grey. Let's go somewhere and relax," he says.

"Well, it might help if you would call me, Meredith. And I don't know how to relax. The only time I am relaxed is when I'm working. That's why I set up something special at the hospital for us," Meredith says.

Palmer looks at her strangely. "Okay, Meredith Grey. You are quite the mystery woman," he says.

"Oh, you have no idea…" she replies.

(Break)

Callie paces back and forth. She looks at her watch. "It's really only 9:00?" she whispers to Christina.

Izzy comes over. "Do you want me to get the cake?" she asks Callie.

"At 9:10," Callie replies.

"9:10? The cake needs to be served at 9:10? You guys are so weird. Even your bridal shower is scheduled to the minute," Izzy rolls her eyes.

"Just do it," Callie snaps.

Izzy walks away, hurt that Callie had snapped at her. George sees her face and walks over to see if she's okay.

"Are you alright?" George says.

Izzy nods, tensely. "I'm fine. Its just that I feel like there's some big joke that everyone knows about that I don't," she explains.

"Me too," George says. "Let's make our own joke."

Izzy laughs, and then abruptly stops.

"What's wrong?" George asks her.

"Nothing. I just haven't laughed in so long. That felt good. Thanks…" Izzy says.

"You're welcome. Hey, that cake looks really good. When can we eat it?" George asks.

"Thanks. I made it and decorated it. I'm not working, so I have some time on my hands…you know. Anyway…it's only 9:08. Callie says that it has to be served at 9:10," Izzy says.

"Okay…so my wife is a little weird. I get it. You two seem to have sort of bonded," George says.

Izzy looks away for a moment. Obviously, George doesn't know, and Izzy will not break that confidence, even to George.

"Yeah…well…she's been pretty nice about everything. Callie's not so bad…." Izzy begins.

She is interrupted by Callie screaming "Izzy! It's 9:11!! The cake is late!"

George looks at Izzy and both of them laugh.

"There's our joke!" George says.

(Break)

Meredith leads Palmer into the clinic, where she has set up a candlelight dinner on a folding table. She actually made the dinner herself, at Callie's request. Callie figured that Meredith's cooking might actually propel Palmer to madness sooner.

"So, Meredith Grey. Tell me about yourself," he says, as he watches her pour her a glass of wine.

Taking the bait, Meredith says. "I am the daughter of Ellis Grey, famous surgeon, and the daughter of Thatcher Grey, famous alcoholic. I have major commitment issues and basically suffer from low self esteem because of my tragic upbringing…" Meredith says, sadly, thinking _Christina better not have turned anything on early. I don't want the whole party to hear that speech!_

"Poor Meredith. It sounds like you need someone to take care of you and teach you to be a good girl…" Palmer says.

"I think you're right," Meredith says, nervously.

"What do you say we get out of here?" Palmer says. "Let's go somewhere special."

Meredith panics. This wasn't in the plan. She has to keep him at the clinic for almost another hour.

"But I spent all this time setting up our special dinner. I want us to enjoy it. Then we can go wherever you want," Meredith says.

Palmer sneers at her. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm not McDreamy, or whatever you girls call Dr. Shepherd. I'm not going to wait while you figure things out. You made a commitment to be here with me, and that means you will be with me!"

Meredith freezes. She knows she needs to think fast. She has about 30 minutes before anyone is going to arrive to help her, and she didn't count on Palmer getting this irrational this quickly. For a moment she stops and thinks about what Izzy must have felt that night. At least Meredith knows that at 10:00pm, she will be saved. Izzy must have seen no end in sight. She pushes the thoughts out of her mind, and tries to stay focused. She knows he is dangerous and that she could be at his mercy at any moment.

"Palmer…I want to be with you. I want us to have dinner together and get to know each other. Tell me about yourself. What brings you to Seattle?" Meredith says, sweetly.

"What brings me to Seattle? What is this? An interview? And stop looking at your watch! It's rude!" Palmer says, increasing slurring his words as he practically pours the wine Meredith is serving down his throat.

(Break)

"It's almost 10:00. Is everything set up?" Callie asks.

"Yes. I told you. It's all set," Christina says.

Callie nods at her. It's almost time.

(Break)

Meredith spoons the chicken she has made on to Palmer's plate.

Palmer takes a bite and spits it out. "This is disgusting! This is what you made me stay here for. I thought we were going to go out for a nice dinner and then I was going to take you back to my place for a nice night. But noooooooooooooo…Meredith didn't want that…" he sneers, sarcastically.

"Palmer – I"

"Shut up!" he says, slapping her across the face.

Meredith winces, and steals a glance at her watch. 9:50. She's almost there. She needs to continue to make him angry.

"What if I don't want to go to your place? What if I want to stay right here and eat some delicious chicken?" she teases.

"You've had your way. You've gotten your way all night. Now it's my turn. Take off your clothes!" he says.

"Absolutely not!" Meredith says, glancing at her watch again.

(Break)

"Christina, your bridesmaids made you a video of all our years of friendship together…" Callie says, getting ready to turn on the television.

"Oh my god! How sweet! I can't believe you all did this for me!! Wow! I am so touched! You're all so special!"

Izzy looks at George. "First of all, I didn't know anything about this video. Second of all…years of friendship? Are we in the twilight zone? What is going on here?" she whispers.

George shrugs. "I have no idea. This is bizarre. It's like everyone is acting,"

Callie turns on the TV and everybody freezes when the image comes on the screen.

(Break)

Meredith wrestles Palmer off of her for the third time. She is exhausted and he has ripped her shirt off which bothers her because she knows everyone will be watching this in a moment. She is exhausted. It was never supposed to get this far. She was supposed to have her purse with her, but somehow he ripped it out of her hands and threw it behind her. She can't quite reach it. She struggles again and manages to use the heel of her shoe to kick him away. As he lurches back, she grabs her purse and tries to open it. Palmer grabs it out of her hands and this time, instead of throwing it, he opens it.

"What's this doing in here?" he slurs as he pulls out the handgun that Callie had given her.

This was all wrong. Meredith was supposed to hold him at gunpoint until the police arrive. Now the tables were turned and it is Meredith who is cowering.

"Palmer…put the gun down…please…you don't want to do this," she pleads.

"Oh, but I do. I very much want to do this, Dr. Grey," he says, smiling.

(Break)

"What the hell!" Derek says, as he watches Meredith on the screen being held at gunpoint.

Christina looks at Callie. "This is your fault. This was your plan," she says, angrily.

Izzy turns towards the screen. "Meredith…no…" she whispers. "Oh my god…no."

(Break)

Sweat begins to form on Meredith's brow. She knows the police will arrive in about 8 minutes, but 8 minutes is a long time when the man in front of you has a gun.

"I'm going to come toward you, and I'm going to undress you. Then I'm going to punish you for being a very bad girl…" Palmer says, sadistically.

Izzy watches this on the screen, and it slowly occurs to everyone in the room that this is live. She begins to shake, as she watches Palmer walk towards Meredith and put his hand on her. His other hand holds the gun tightly.

Alex explodes. He kicks over the table at which he is sitting and says, "I'm going to kill that bastard" as he runs toward the clinic. Derek comes out of his trance and follows him muttering, "You touch her, and I'll tear you limb from limb,"

Alex breaks into the clinic and before Palmer can process the sound of the door slamming, he jumps on him, knocking the gun from his hand. Alex punches him over and over saying, "You monster. You're gonna pay for what you did to her!"

Derek grabs the tablecloth from the makeshift table and covers Meredith in it. She grabs the tablecloth but pushes Derek away. "I'm fine," she says.

Mark and Preston stare at the screen. Preston takes Christina's hand.

The chief puts his head in his hands watching this scene on the screen. "I'm sorry Ellis…I failed you…" he whispers.

Izzy sits on the floor, shaking and sobbing. George puts his arms around her and Callie rubs her back.

Just then, the police break down the door to the clinic. They pull Alex away from Palmer.

"Let me finish him off!" Alex screams, still swinging his fists.

Palmer is bleeding badly, but is still conscious. The police handcuff him. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say…" one of the officers reads him his rights as they shove him in the back of the car.

Izzy's sobs intensify, and Callie bursts into tears herself. George looks at both of them, not knowing what to do. As he hesitates, the two women reach for each other and sob hysterically in each other's arms.

Meredith walks past Derek who says, "Meredith! Wait!"

Meredith stops, turns towards him and says, "Don't you get it? This isn't about me and you. This is about Izzy. I don't have time for you now."

Alex kicks the wall of the clinic repeatedly while Derek watches him, not knowing what to do. Finally Derek says, "Come on Karev. Let's go."

"He did that to her. He really did it…" Alex whispers.


	19. Chapter 20

Everyone clears out of the chief's office at his request

Everyone clears out of the chief's office at his request. Even the chief leaves the room, needing to step outside for a bit of air. Only Izzy, George and Callie remain.

"What happened?" Izzy asks, still confused.

"Christina, Meredith and I set Palmer up. We needed to show everyone what a monster Palmer was and have him arrested at the same time. Christina set up the closed circuit television so everyone could see. I orchestrated the whole thing and had everything timed to the minute. That's why I sort of went ballistic on you about the timing of serving the cake," Callie says.

"And Meredith put herself in the hands of a psychopath for me. And I treated her like…" Izzy's voice trails off as she puts her head in her hands.

"Iz, you couldn't have known. Meredith will understand," George says.

"I need to talk to her," Izzy says.

(Break)

Derek and Alex sit on the floor in the clinic. Mark enters from the side door but does not approach the two men yet. He stands off to the side and listens to their conversation.

"I'm a jerk. I was Mr. Self-Righteous, telling Meredith to learn to think about others when the whole time, all I was doing was thinking about how I wanted her to be for me. I made it all about me and drove her to do this…She could have been killed," Derek says.

"Nah…I'm the bigger jerk. I didn't believe her. She tried to tell me, and I treated her like she was crazy. You know what it was? I look at Izzy and I can't believe anyone can be with her positive energy and optimism and not be taken in by it. I can't believe anyone could hurt someone like her. What kind of a monster could hurt Izzy like that? I thought she had to be crazy because no one could do what she said he did to someone like her." Alex says.

Mark walks over to both of them. "You're a pathetic bunch," he turns to Derek first. "You still think its all about you. You didn't drive her to do this. She did it for her friend. She almost got herself killed to help a friend. She's a pretty selfless person, and you are a selfish ass for making it about you. And you…" Mark says as he turns to Alex, "You think only a monster like Palmer could hurt Izzy? You hurt her every minute that she thought you didn't believe her. You may not have wanted to see the situation for what it was because it was too hard for you, but she needed her friends behind her and you turned away from her and took everyone with you. You hurt her too."

Alex and Derek sit silently for a moment knowing Mark is right.

"So what are you two morons waiting for? Let's go make this right," Mark says, putting his hands out to help the two men to their feet.

(Break)

Meredith sits on the hospital bed. She hurt her wrist while wrestling Palmer off of her, and she wanted to make sure no damage was done to her surgery hand. As she waits for Callie to come back with the x-rays, she hears the door open. A tear-stained Izzy walks through the door.

"Iz! I'm so glad you're here," Meredith says, pasting a smile on her face, despite how tired she is.

Izzy starts to cry again. "I didn't think I had any tears left in me," she says, trying to smile.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine, Iz. I'm fine," Meredith says.

"No. It's not fine. You risked your life…for me. No one has ever done that for me. No one has ever cared about me that much," Izzy sobs.

Meredith hugs her, "No. You have just never known that anyone cared about you that much. You don't know how special you are. You have friends who care about you and if someone hurts you, we all go to bat for you."

Izzy and Meredith hug each other for a moment until the door opens again. It's Callie.

"Meredith, your wrist is fine. It's a mild sprain. Rest it, ice it and…" Callie is cut off by Izzy and Meredith laughing.

"We may be interns, but we know what to do with a sprain. That's like third grade first aid information," Meredith says.

Callie smiles back. "Sorry…you're right," she pauses, "Umm…I'm glad you're okay. You did a really good job, even if our plan didn't work out the way it was supposed to. I'm sorry that I put you in such danger. I didn't count on him getting the gun away from you…I mean…"

Meredith cuts her off. "Palmer's in jail. That's all that matters…and I'm fine," she says.

"Good. Thank you Meredith. And congratulations Izzy. Your rapist is behind bars. You're so lucky," Callie says, enviously, as she walks out of the room.

Meredith looks at Izzy strangely. "What's up with her? She used to hate you."

Izzy looks away and shrugs. Fortunately, she is interrupted by Derek entering the room.

"Dr. Stevens, I am so glad that Palmer is no longer a danger to you. I hope that brings you some sense of comfort," Derek says, placing a hand on Izzy's shoulder.

She smiles graciously. "It does. And so does the fact that I have wonderful, _unselfish_ friends who lay their life on their line for me," Izzy says, pointedly. She then adds, "Mer…I'll be outside if YOU need ME. You've done so much for me," she says, glaring at Derek, as she leaves the room.

"Meredith, you scared the hell out of me," Derek begins.

"There you go again…always about how YOU feel…" Meredith says with a smile.

"No…let me finish. I told you that you were selfish and that you needed to change…the truth is that…" Meredith cuts him off.

"That I was selfish and needed to change. You were right, Derek. I wallowed in self-pity and revolved my whole life around you. But you know what? Living my life without worrying about you judging me felt good. I'm growing, Derek, but I need to grow more, and I can't do that if I have to worry about what you think of me," Meredith says.

"You're an amazing woman, Dr. Grey."

"And you're an amazing man. And someday, I'll be ready, and when I am…" Meredith's voice trails off.

"I'll be waiting. Until then, consider me a friend," Derek says.

Meredith smiles, "Friends…for now," she says.

(Break)

Izzy walks down the hall. She runs into the chief who stops her. "Dr. Stevens, I need to speak with you," he says.

Izzy glares at him. She is still angry about his refusal to believe her.

"Dr. Stevens, I failed. I didn't want to see what was in front of me. I am so sorry for what I put you through. It would be an honor if you would come back to work at Seattle Grace, effective immediately. You will be given credit for all the hours that you were out of work over the past few weeks," Richard says, contritely.

"Dr. Webber," Izzy begins, "You took an incredibly difficult time for me and made it more difficult. You behaved like an absolute ass. However, Meredith explained why you did, and I forgive you because, frankly, I'm tired of being angry."

Richard nods, "Thank you," he says, appreciately.

Christina walks by. "Hey, Christina!" Izzy calls.

"What? I'm late!" Christina says.

"I just wanted to say thank you…you know…for setting up everything with Callie. I'm sorry your shower was ruined," Izzy says.

"Be sorry that I even had to have a shower. Do people actually have fun at those?" Christina asks.

"Ummm…Maybe if there isn't a psychotic rapist on the loose!" Izzy replies.

"I think I'll take a psychotic rapist over all those stupid kitchen appliances. Do I have to actually keep everything or can I return it since it wasn't a real shower anyway?" Christina asks.

She is cut off by Alex who says, "Izzy! I need to talk to you!"

Christina rushes down the hallway. Izzy continues walking as though she doesn't hear Alex speaking.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Izzy. Those words don't come easily to me, but here I am, screaming them down the hallway of the hospital. I'm sorry!" Alex says.

Izzy spins around. "Do you want a medal because you managed to say you're sorry? Ooooh…what a brave boy. I was raped, Alex. I was raped, beaten, humiliated and damaged for life. I'll never be the same again. And all I wanted was to feel supported by my friends. You took that away from me. You took his word over mine. How could you?" Izzy asks.

"I couldn't believe a person could do what he did…" Alex begins, but Izzy cuts him off.

"You are a doctor! You see horrible things all the time. You know the world isn't all good and that bad things happen…you know that…" Izzy says, feeling her throat tighten.

"Yes. I do. I see bad things happen all the time. My life has been one bad thing after another. But the one consistent bright light in ever moment of darkness has been you. It's been your smile and your willingness to see the good in everyone. I guess I couldn't bring myself to believe that someone could do something so awful to someone so pure and good. I turned my back on your because I wasn't strong enough to see your pain. I'm not a nice person, Izzy. I'm not like you. I'm not that strong," Alex says, looking down at the floor.

Izzy stops for a moment and takes stock of how she feels. She tries to muster up the anger to yell at him some more, but the anger seems to be gone. "Thank you, Alex. That was really sweet. I never knew you felt that way about me. And thank you for saving Meredith. If you hadn't done what you did…" Izzy says.

Alex shakes his head. "I didn't do that for Meredith. I did it for you. I didn't even see Meredith. I saw him hurting you and I just had to hurt him back. I'm sorry you were hurt, Izzy. I miss your smile."

Izzy smiles at him. "How's that? I think my smile is coming back. It's a slow process and its not consistent, but knowing I have people who care about me really helps. Thank you."

Alex reaches out to touch Izzy's arm, and she pulls him into a hug. They both linger a little more than they have to.

George and Callie walk by them.

"Weird," George says. "The guy's been such a jerk to Izzy and now she's hugging him?"

"Yeah," Callie replies, sounding distracted.

"Callie? Are you okay? You've been acting weird ever since everything happened with Izzy. Is it that I've been spending too much time with her, or…"

"You Seattle Grace men all think everything is about you," Callie says. "No. This isn't about you and Izzy or even you or Izzy. This is about me. But I'm okay, and everything's fine," Callie explains without really explaining everything.

"And you Seattle Grace women give us Seattle Grace men a complex because you never explain things to us so that they make sense. You get all cryptic and weird and then we worry that we've done something wrong." George replies.

Callie laughs. "You haven't done anything wrong. I love you, George."

"I love you too." George says.

"What do you say we see if Izzy needs a ride home," Callie says.

"Okay…now I know something's weird, but I'm just going to enjoy the fact that you two don't hate each other anymore," George says.

(Break)

Meredith and Izzy sit in Meredith's hospital room when Christina walks in.

"I'm so glad you're not dead, Meredith. I mean, then I'd have to return all these gifts and go to your funeral and try not to act all sad while I'm trolling for surgeries," Christina says.

"Wow Christina! You really have a way with words." Izzy says.

"So, how did it go with Derek?" both of them ask Meredith at once.

"It was fine. I told him I'm still not ready, but he said he'll wait until I am." Meredith says.

"How McDreamy of him!" Izzy says, sarcastically.

"Hey. That's my line. Maybe I should steal your line then," Christina retorts.

"And what is my line?" Izzy asks.

"Something like, 'true love will always prevail!'" Christina says, mockingly.

"Christina…please don't ever say 'true love' again. It doesn't sound right coming from you," Meredith says.

The three of them laugh.

"Here's to being single for a while!" Meredith says, lifting a fake glass.

"To good friends," Izzy says, lifting a fake glass

"Whatever…" Christina says, lifting her fake glass and pretending to toast.


	20. Chapter 21

"I hereby order Palmer Talbot to be held without bail pending his trial," the judge states as she pounds her gravel

"I hereby order Palmer Talbot to be held without bail pending his trial," the judge states as she pounds her gravel.

Izzy can't help but look at Palmer, who sits stoically in his handcuffs.

_He looks so much smaller than I remember…_she thinks.

Since the night of the shower, the police had done a full investigation of Palmer. They had found many other women to speak out against him. They were still looking for the last victim of his. Her name was Elizabeth Mansfield and she was the doctor who had disappeared from Mount Sinai.

Dr. Talbot Sr. puts his head in his hands. Richard Webber looks at him from across the room, yet cannot bring himself to go to him. He looks away, not wanting to face his friend's pain.

Meredith takes Izzy's hand and squeezes. "You did it!" she whispers.

Izzy smiles weakly. She looks at Palmer's family, all crying tears of sadness. The fact that she has her own supporters here is not lost on her. She knows they will all be there with her a few months down the line when she testifies at his trial.

As Palmer is lead from the courtroom, Alex yells, "Don't drop the soap, buddy!"

"Alex!" Izzy hisses, "This is a court of law!" she says, but she is smiling.

Christina congratulates Izzy and says, "I'm glad he's behind bars. Now he can't take my surgeries anymore, or do anything else like rape people.

George and Callie congratulate Izzy as the leave the courtroom. Callie is unusually quiet. As she hugs Izzy, Izzy whispers, "I'll see you tomorrow at group." Callie nods.

As the last person clears out, Izzy collapses into a chair. Meredith sits next to her.

Tears stream down Izzy's face. "I'm safe, Mer! I haven't felt safe since it happened. I'm safe," she says.

"You are. You're finally safe, Iz," Meredith says, hugging her friend.

(Break)

Izzy pulls up to her support group and looks forward to telling everyone that Palmer is behind bars. She asked Callie if she wanted a ride, but Callie didn't seem interested in going with her. Izzy tried not to take it personally.

As she walks in, she looks for Anna, who has not attended in quite a few sessions. Izzy worries about her, as she knows it is unlike her to miss her group.

Izzy sits down next to Callie, who smiles tensely at her.

"Callie? Are you alright?" Izzy asks. "You've been weird ever since Palmer's bail hearing."

"Look, I'm happy for you, Izzy. Really, I am. No one wanted him caught more than I did…well except maybe you. But I can't jump for joy with you. I've dreamed of what you're experiencing right now. I'd love to be able to sleep through the night knowing that he's behind bars. I haven't had a full night's sleep since it happened. I'm jealous. I thought I was done being jealous of you, but I'm not." Callie says.

"I wish there was something I could say or do," Izzy replies, "but I know there's nothing that's going to ever make you feel safe other than him being behind bars. I wish I could do something to change that for you, after all you did for me, but since I can't, just know that I wish I could."

"Thanks." Callie says, sadly.

Izzy proudly tells the story of Palmer's bail hearing to her group. She is sure to highlight Callie's heroism in the whole plan, and Callie seems to warm back up to her a bit.

Everybody congratulates her, but Izzy's happiness is tempered by the fact that Anna is still missing.

Izzy says goodbye to Callie and says goodbye to the rest of her group. She leaves, and heads to the hospital, looking forward to her first real night back at work.

(Break)

An ambulance rushes in with its sirens blaring.

Christina, Izzy, Meredith, Alex and George stand waiting for instructions.

"Stevens! Take this patient!" Dr. Bailey calls out.

The paramedics wheel a young girl out on a stretcher. "15 year old female. Intentional overdose on valium…"

As the Izzy wheels the girl inside and sees her face in the light.

"Anna?" she says, incredulously.

"Dr. Stevens? My head hurts. Everything is spinning…" she says, before she loses consciousness.

"Anna? Anna? Oh my god! Somebody page Dr. Bailey!" Izzy screams.

Alex comes over to her. "Izzy. Calm down. This kid overdosed. This is a simple one. Run a toxicology lab, and pump her stomach. Then order a psych eval and see if she needs to be committed," Alex says.

"She doesn't need to be committed, Alex! Just shut up. I've got everything under control," she says.

"You don't look like you're under control…but okay." Alex says, walking away.

Izzy wheels Anna into an OR. Dr. Bailey comes running in. "Okay Stevens. This one is yours. We need to pump her stomach and take labs. Get started," she says, calmly.

Izzy forces her hands to stop shaking. "Okay Anna. I need you to relax and stay with me. You are going to be okay, whether you want to or not. I know you are scared, but I'm going to save you. Anna…you have to be okay. You saved me when I needed saving. You inspired me to help myself. I'm here because of you. You're not going anywhere now," Izzy whispers to the young girl.

As Izzy pumps Anna's stomach she is relieved that the young girl's vital signs remain stable.

Christina comes running in. "Is her heart okay? I can…" Izzy stops her dead in her tracks.

"Not everything is about your surgical advancement. Her heart is fine. This girl is a friend of mine, and I need her to be okay. She has to be okay, Christina. She just has to be," Izzy says.

Christina is rendered speechless for a moment as she realizes that Izzy is not in the mood for her professional competitiveness. "Well, she's in good hands. Your hands…not mine," Christina says as she politely backs out of the room.

"Come on, Anna…time to wake up," Izzy says, softly.

She sits with the young girl for a few minutes. Alex comes in.

"How's it going?" he asks.

"She hasn't woken up yet. But she will…right?" Izzy asks, her voice hopeful.

Alex nods. "She will, Izzy. And the first thing she'll see is your face, so get that pained look off it," he says.

"I can't. If anything happens to this girl…you don't understand, Alex. In some ways, this girl saved me…" Izzy says.

"Who is she?" Alex asks.

"I can't say," Izzy says, shaking her head, knowing that Anna still deserves her confidentiality.

"Well, she'll wake up eventually, so if you're going to sit there and be the first thing she sees, make sure you put a little lipstick on at least," Alex quips as he leaves to go do his rounds.

Meredith comes in with Christina. "Hey! It's your first case. You're officially back. How's it going?" Meredith says, brightly.

Izzy looks down at Anna's immobile face, and shrugs.

Christina leans towards Meredith and whispers, "I told you bright and shiny wasn't going to work."

Izzy doesn't respond. She simply stares at Anna's eyes which remain closed.

Meredith shifts uncomfortably as she says, "Well, I guess we better get going…"

"See? I told you!" Christina whispers.

George and Callie pass Meredith and Christina on their way into Anna's room as Meredith is leaving.

"How's your first day back?" George says.

Izzy catches Callie's eye and moves away from Anna for a moment so Callie can see who is in the hospital bed.

"Anna?" Callie gasps.

Izzy nods.

"What happened?" Callie asks.

"Okay? Does someone want to fill me in?" George asks.

Izzy and Callie ignore him as Izzy responds to Callie.

"She overdosed. Valium," Izzy says numbly.

"Why? She was doing so well. She got that job…she was going to prom…" Callie says.

"Okay…somebody in this room is a little lost. Maybe his wife or best friend feels like enlightening him at some point," George says.

"I don't know what happened. But I can't let her wake up alone. I just can't," Izzy says.

"Of course not," Callie says. "Stay here with her. I'll cover anything else that comes your way. And keep me posted. Page me if there's any change," Callie says.

Izzy nods and Callie leads George out of the room as he barrages her with questions.

Izzy notices Anna's eyelids fluttering. "Anna? Come on…you can do it. Open your eyes," she says.

Anna opens her eyes for a brief moment. "Dr. Stevens? My head hurts," she says, weakly.

"I'll bet it does," Izzy says. "What happened?"

Anna shakes her head gently. "I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't keep up. My grades were slipping, the two jobs were too much. I don't sleep because of the nightmares. My mom lost her day job and she is only working nights, so not only do I never see her, but money is so tight right now so prom was out of the question. Things just got too hard. I couldn't do it anymore."

"There is always another way. Always. Hurting yourself is never the only way out," Izzy tells her. As she says it, she realizes how trite the words sound.

Anna smiles a tightly lipped smile. "Easy for you to say. You probably make a ton of money as a doctor and can afford to take care of yourself. You live with other people, so when you have nightmares, there are people to talk to. I'm alone all the time, except when I go to school or group. With the two jobs, I wasn't making it to group, and I couldn't even stay awake in group. I was failing at everything."

All of a sudden, something becomes very clear in Izzy's mind. She knows how she can repay this young girl for the inspiration Anna has given to her.

"Listen…Anna. I'm going to call your mother and tell her she needs to come down to the hospital. Then we are going to figure this all out. But I promise you…this is all going to be okay. You are going to be fine. Close your eyes and get some rest," Izzy tells her.

Anna's eyes get wide. "Please don't call my mom! She'll have to leave work. She'll be really upset and her boss will get so mad. Please…Izzy…I'm begging you," Anna pleads.

"I have to. You're a minor. You need a parent or guardian to sign you out," Izzy explains, matter-of-factly.

"No! Please! Izzy! Don't do this…you don't understand. If my mom loses this job…" Anna's eyes fill with tears.

Izzy takes the young girls hand. "Anna, look at me. I promise you that everything will work out. Do you believe me?" Izzy asks.

Anna shakes her head. "Nothing ever works out. Everything is always a struggle," she says, defeated.

Izzy pokes here head out of Anna's door into the hallway. "Dr. Grey! Can you do me a favor?"

Meredith runs to Anna's room. "Sure. What do you need?"

"I need you to sit with my patient. She is a suicide risk, and I need to make a phone call," Izzy says.

"But shouldn't you…." Meredith begins.

"Please Meredith. Do this one last thing for me and I'll never ask you for anything again!" Izzy begs.

"I don't believe that, but I will be requesting one pancake breakfast from you!" Meredith says with a smile.

"Deal," Izzy says, as she runs out of the room.

(Break)

Meredith sits in Anna's room not knowing what to say. Anna does not make any effort at conversation and stares straight ahead. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Meredith says, "I tried to drown myself once."

Anna turns to look at her, "Well that was stupid," she says.

Meredith looks offended. "No stupider than taking a bottle of valium and needing your stomach pumped."

"You're a doctor, you're beautiful and I bet your life is really easy. What reason could you have to want to drown yourself?" Anna says, resentfully.

"Well, my mother always hated me and told me I could do no right. My father was an alcoholic who left me and chose another family without giving me a second thought. My boyfriend decided I was self absorbed and left me, so I have spent the past few months trying to prove myself to him. Basically, I sabotage every relationship in my life because I truly don't believe that I deserve to be happy. However, I'm trying to change that about myself now. But anyway…that's why I tried to drown myself," Meredith explains.

"Wow. I'm sorry. I didn't really know. I just thought…"Anna says.

"You just thought that everyone's life is better than yours. Yeah. I know that feeling. But you know what? You can get really stuck in that pattern and never get out. You end up being totally self absorbed as you look around and thing that everyone is better than you. Well, here I am. I'm not drowning anymore. I'm swimming, and you know what? It feels pretty good," Meredith says, more to herself than to Anna.

Anna smiles, "That's good. So you're a friend of Izzy – I mean Dr. Stevens?" Anna asks.

Meredith nods. "Yes. I guess you are too," Meredith says, curious where Anna and Izzy know each other from.

Anna nods but does not offer any more information. "She's been really nice to me. It was nice of her to stay here so I didn't wake up alone," Anna says.

"Yes. It was. She's a very special person, and she must think you are a very special person as well. When Izzy is your friend, she'll go to the end of the earth for you," Meredith says.

Anna smiles. "I'm so tired…I think I'll rest for a little while now," she says.

"I'll stay here until Izzy comes back," Meredith says.

Anna smiles again and falls asleep.

THE FINAL CHAPTER IS NEXT…STAY TUNED!!


	21. Chapter 22

Anna's mother rushes into the hospital room

Anna's mother rushes into the hospital room.

"Anna! What happened? Why would you do something like this?" she asks, tears filling her eyes as she looks at her daughter.

"I'm so sorry mom. It was stupid. I know that. Was your boss mad? Are you going to lose your job? I'm really sorry…" Anna says, in a panic.

"Mrs. Renward, I'm Dr. Stevens. I'm the one who called you," Izzy says, as she enters the room.

"And I'm Dr. Grey," Meredith says, "You have a lovely daughter."

"Anna…" her mom says, unsure of what to say.

"Mrs. Renward, I am not only Anna's doctor, but we know each other from the support group that we both attend. As I'm sure you know, Anna's life has gotten hectic and stressful over the past few months, not to mention the trauma she suffered following the, ummm…assault," Izzy begins.

Mrs. Renward and Anna both nod.

"I think the pressure of working two jobs and keeping up her grades, as well as dealing with the current stresses that she has been dealing with, were too much for Anna to handle. Unfortunately, Anna chose to deal with that by hurting herself rather than seeking out the help of those who care about her," Izzy says, giving Anna a look.

"I know. It was stupid. I said that already. I won't do it again. Just go back to work, Mom. If you lose this job, we're going to lose the apartment! The landlord called again last night. The rent is due, and…" Anna is cut off by her mother.

"Anna! These are adult concerns and you are not the adult. I will handle everything. I promise, everything will be okay," Mrs. Renward says, with tears in her eyes.

"Dr. Grey is going to take Anna to the sixth floor for a psychiatric evaluation. We need to determine that she is not a danger to herself in order to release her in your custody," Izzy explains.

Meredith quickly leads Anna out of the room despite her protests.

Once alone, Mrs. Renward collapses onto the chair next to Anna's hospital bed.

"I want to be with her. I don't want to be away from her all the time. And I don't want her to worry. She takes on too much . She's so scared all the time. And after what happened to her, I wish I could take better care of her, but I can't. I have to work, or we'll be out on the street. You must think I'm a terrible mother…" she says to Izzy.

"You can't be a terrible mother. You have a wonderful daughter. You must be a terrific mother. We all have our difficult decisions to make. We do the best we can," Izzy says.

"Are you a mother?" Mrs. Renward asks.

"No…" Izzy says, sadly, thinking of Hannah. "But one day I'd like to be and I hope my child turns out half as great as your daughter. In the meantime, I think I can help," Izzy says.

"Oh. You've done plenty already. We'll be alright. Anna and I will make it. I promised her. I promised her things would be alright. Oh god…what if I break that promise. No. I'll make things alright. I don't care if I have to work 24/7. She'll go to the prom and go to college and do all the things the other kids are doing. And she's not going to work anymore. If its too much for her, I'll just have to take on some extra odd jobs. I'm sure I can…" Mrs. Renward thinks out loud.

"Please have Dr. Grey page me when Anna comes back. I want to talk to the two of you together," Izzy says.

Mrs. Renward nods and Izzy can see that her brain is still spinning.

(Break)

Alex and George run to the ambulance at Bailey's request.

"Twenty-eight year old female. Fractured scalpula. Severe sexual trauma. Conscious but uncommunicative. Further information is attached to the chart," he says, as Alex and George wheel the gurney inside.

"Oh man. This is her," Alex says as he opens the chart.

"Who?" George asks.

"It's Elizabeth Mansfield, the missing victim of Dr. Talbot's. They found her last night. Don't you ever read a newspaper?" Alex says, surveying the young woman.

"I was here all night last night. I didn't have time to lounge on the couch with a newspaper. Does Izzy know?" George says.

Alex shrugs his shoulders. "She's been with that teenager suicide kid. I don't know what she knows," he says.

Callie comes running in. "They said someone needs some bones set. Let me see the chart," she says.

George hands it to her and Callie gasps, "This is her! It's Elizabeth Mansfield," she says.

"Does everyone know about this but me?" George asks.

"I think so, Bambi," Alex says. He is quiet for a moment. "This could have been her…Izzy…it could have been Izzy…" he says.

"Yeah…" George says, for lack of a response.

"I want the bastard dead. I want him to rot!" Alex says as he looks at Elizabeth Mansfield's face and thinks, _It could have been Izzy._

(Break)

Izzy comes running back to Anna's room. "How did it go?" Izzy whispers to Meredith.

"Pretty well. They are going to release her as long as her mother signs that she will supervise her 24/7 until her follow up psych appointment. I'm not sure how this woman will be able to do that, but they are only willing to send her home if mom signs those papers." Meredith says.

"Her mother will be able to supervise her. It won't be a problem," Izzy says, confidently.

Meredith looks at Izzy questioningly, but does not ask too many questions.

"Anna, I want to speak with you and your mother regarding your release papers," Izzy says.

Anna nods and her mother reads the papers. "I can't sign these, Dr. Stevens. I can't supervise her 24/7. I have to go to work or we'll be out on the street. There's just no way. If you think she's that much of a danger to her herself, then I don't know what I'll do…I mean…" Mrs. Renward's eyes fill with tears again.

"I'm not a danger to myself. I made a mistake. I won't do it again!" Anna almost whines. Izzy tries not to smile at the fact that Anna finally sounds like a bratty teenager.

"A pretty big mistake which ended you up in the hospital with a tube in your stomach and rendered you unconscious, got your mother out of work and made a lot of people worry about you. This isn't a little oops, Anna. This is a big mistake," Izzy says, sternly.

Anna looks at the floor. "I know," she says, softly, "I really messed up."

"I want to help. Anna, remember at group, where Fran was talking about doing good for others? Well, I used to do those types of things all the time. Ever since Palmer, well…I haven't been myself. I want to get back to doing things that help people, and the first person I would like to help is the one who helped me," Izzy explains.

Anna looks confused as she waits for Izzy to continue.

"The first time I met you, you convinced me not to let Palmer ruin the rest of my life. You were just this kid, but you had it all figured out. I want to repay you for the wisdom you showed me, and for that first day at group where you saved me a seat next to you. Those things meant a lot to me. I want you to know that…and I want to help you," Izzy says.

Anna is speechless as Izzy tries to find the right words to continue.

"When my fiancé, Denny died, he left me 8 million dollars. I used 6 million to fund the clinic. I still have 2 million in the bank. I want to put 1 million dollars of it into a fund for you. I want you to use it for college. I want you to use it to make your life the way you want it. I want you to go to prom and enjoy yourself. I want you to have fun in high school like I never did. I want you to stop working two jobs, and crumbling under the pressure. I want you to be happy, Anna. And if 1 million dollars can do that for you, I want you to have it," Izzy says.

Anna gasps and looks at her mother. Neither one of them can speak.

Izzy continues. "500,000 will go into a trust fund for Anna to use when she graduates high school. The other 500,000 will go into an account for you to use now. This way, you can be home with her, Mrs. Renward. You can spend time with her. You can enjoy your daughter, because she is very special," Izzy says, her eyes filling with tears.

"Dr. Stevens, we can't…" Mrs. Renward, begins.

"Yes. You can. And you will," Izzy says. "Please, do this for me," she pleads with the mother.

"Izzy, I don't know – I don't even – I mean – Thank you. Just thank you." Anna says.

"There are some conditions," Izzy says, with a warning look to Anna. "First of all, you ever pull a stunt like this again, and I'll take every penny back and give it to my friend Meredith over here," Izzy says, motioning to Meredith. Meredith smiles, with tears in her eyes. She is so proud of her friend, and so happy for this family.

"I promise, Izzy. I'll never do anything like this again. I hurt my mom, you, and of course, myself. I'm done causing trouble. Thank you. I can't even – just thank you," Anna says.

"Dr. Stevens, I don't know how to thank you. I don't even know what to say. You don't know how you will be changing our lives. You can't even imagine…" Anna's mother begins.

"Don't thank me. I'm doing this as much for me as for Anna. And there is one more condition, Anna…You keep coming to group. I think we both still need to be there…" Izzy says with a smile.

Anna nods. "I will. I promise,"

"I'll leave you alone with your mom now. I'm going to get your discharge papers taken care of. I'll see you at group later in the week, and I'll go over everything regarding the account," Izzy says.

She and Meredith walk out of the room together.

"Okay…that was the most unselfish thing I have ever seen…" Meredith says.

Izzy shrugs. "It's just money. They needed it more," she says, nonchalantly.

Derek and Alex come running over to Meredith and Izzy.

"I think you both should hear this from someone, before you read it in the papers. They found, Dr. Elizabeth Mansfield," Derek says.

"And what is her condition?" Meredith asks, falling into doctor mode.

"Physically, she is doing well. I performed a complete neuro exam on her, which indicated there was no physical brain trauma. She's pretty beaten up and Callie is setting a few bones right now, but she is physically alright. However, psychologically, she seems to have suffered irreversible trauma. She is completely unable to interact with her surroundings. It seems to be a result of over a year of being in captivity," Derek says, staring at Meredith.

"Captivity?" Izzy asks.

"The bastard had her locked down in an underground dungeon. The police found her chained up. He needs to die, goddamn it! The bastard needs to die!" Alex explodes.

"Dr. Karev!" Derek says, sharply.

"No! It's true! Everyone here is being all coy, and no one wants to say it, but Dr. Mansfield could have been you, Izzy. It could have been you lying there, unable to make eye contact with anyone ever again. Unable to speak…unable to…" Alex is overcome with emotion as he storms away.

Izzy freezes. "It could have been. But it also could have been you, Meredith. It could have been you too. All because you wanted to help me…it could have been you," she says, softly.

"But we're okay, Izzy. We're both okay," Meredith says, hugging her friend.

"Well, I better go check on Dr. Karev," Derek says, looking at Meredith.

Meredith waits a moment before says, "Thank you, Dr. Shepherd for letting us know."

"You're welcome." Derek says. He pauses for a moment. "Meredith?" he says.

"What?"

"Ummm…nothing. Have a good day," he says, awkwardly.

(Break)

Izzy slips into Dr. Mansfield's room.

"Elizabeth, I'm Izzy. Another one of Palmer's victims. What I went through, well, it doesn't compare to what you went through, but I do know first hand what a monster he is. I want you to know that we are going to take care of you here. We'll make sure you are comfortable. And when Palmer goes to trial, I'll be testifying for both of us. I'm sorry for all you went through, Elizabeth…really, I am." Izzy whispers.

As she sits there, holding Elizabeth's limp hand, George comes in. He sits down next to her.

"Callie told me," he says.

"Oh." Izzy says, for lack of anything else to say.

"I guess that's how you two bonded? Well, I'm glad you don't hate each other anymore…I mean, I wish it could have happened differently, of course, but I'm glad you two see the good in each other," George says.

Izzy nods.

"I'm supposed to transfer Dr. Mansfield to a long term psychiatric care facility. I need to take her now. Her parents are meeting her at the facility. She's not going to come out of this…" George says.

"I know." Izzy says, sadly.

"I'm sorry it had to be anyone, but I'm glad it wasn't you. I'm glad you got away, and you're okay," George says.

Izzy shakes her head, "I'm not okay, George. Not yet. But I will be. I have to be…for Elizabeth Mansfield, for Callie, for all those people who never got to put their attacker behind bars. For all those people…I will be okay." Izzy says, determined.

"And for you." George adds.

"And for me." she says.

Alex bursts into the room. "Did the chief find you yet?" he yells, louder than necessary.

"Dude, we're right here. You don't have to yell!" George says.

"No one found us. Why? Is the chief mad about something? Am I in trouble again?" Izzy asks, worried.

Alex shakes his head and smiles bigger than anyone has ever seen him smile.

"No. Palmer's dead. He got his ass kicked in prison. He messed with the wrong crowd and they beat him to death! I bet his brains were all over his cell wall by the time…" Alex's glee is interrupted by Izzy.

"He's a human being, Alex. We don't gloat when humans are beaten to death," Izzy says.

George looks at her, incredulously. "Izzy…after what he did to you? Who are you? Gandhi?" he asks.

"Oh fine…I'm happy. I'm trying to rise above, but I'm happy! I'm glad he's dead. I am glad that another human being got beaten to death. Wow! I never thought I'd say that!" Izzy says.

The room is silent for a moment as Izzy takes Elizabeth's hand. "He got what he deserved. He did. I wish you could celebrate with me," she says.

She feels a squeeze on her hand, and in that moment, she tells herself that Elizabeth has heard her and agrees.

"Goodbye. Good luck," Izzy whispers to her, as George wheels her away on the gurney.

Alex pulls Izzy into a hug.

"Dr. Karev, I didn't know you were the hugging type…" she smiles.

"Only with the right type of girl," he smiles back.

(Break)

ONE YEAR LATER

"Meredith! Are you ready? Alex and Derek are waiting downstairs! I don't want to be late for our reservation!" Izzy says.

"I'm almost ready. Tell them I'll be down in a minute!" Meredith yells from the bathroom.

Izzy sighs, but relays the message. The phone rings.

"Hi George!" she says, looking at the caller ID.

"Callie and I are running late. We'll be there as soon as we can. Callie got held up at the hospital, and…" George is cut off by Izzy.

"Ugh! You two are always late! See you when you get there. And tell Callie that she left her cell phone in my car if she's looking for it," Izzy says, as she hangs up the phone.

During the car ride they all talk animatedly about their work at the hospital, and as they pull into the parking lot, Izzy sees Mrs. Renward waving to her.

"We saved you front row seats. She's so happy that you're here and that you brought your friends. She was so nervous and then she was upset because everyone else has big families with aunts, uncles and cousins, and she just had her boring old mom! Now she has a team of doctors cheering for her!" Anna's mother says, laughing.

Izzy hugs her. "You must be so proud of her! I know I am!"

They all take their seats and wait as the ceremony begins.

_I'd like to call upon valedictorian, Anna Renward to lead the class of 2009 in the pledge of allegiance. _

Anna walks timidly to the podium.

_I pledge allegiance to the flag… _

Izzy catches Callie's eye. Callie smiles at her. "She did it!" she whispers to Izzy who smiles back at her.

_And now for the valedictory address by Anna Renward who has achieved the highest grade point average of the class of 2009. _

Anna takes a deep breath and looks out at the audience.

_I'm sure I'm supposed to inspire you all with some kind of "valedictory wisdom." I'm not sure how to do that, so I'm actually going to apologize in advance if I fail in that department. The last four years have been so difficult for me, that I can't believe I'm actually standing here graduating, let alone speaking to all of you as the valedictorian. _

_Usually the valedictorian is someone who has sacrificed so much to achieve this position. The truth is, that I used my studies as a hide out for the first three years of high school. You see, I was raped early on in high school, and rather than deal with the social aspects of high school which became terrifying to me, I threw myself into my school work, which was something that I could control. That, coupled with the fact that I was working two jobs to help my mother make ends meet, made getting involved with all of the activities that defined high school for most people, near impossible. However, the one thing I could be sure of was that I could study hard and get good grades. It stopped me from thinking about anything else, so thank you to my teachers for allowing me the opportunity to block out my life's challenges for the first 3 years of high school. Besides my mother, who is the strongest person in the world and who has sacrificed so much to give me everything she could, even when all she could give me was a roof over my head, I made sure not to connect with anyone._

_At the end of my junior year, I met someone who changed my life. I wandered into a medical clinic and met Dr. Isobel Stevens, who helped me that day. I thought I would never see her again, but as fate would have it, our paths crossed again. She had been through so much, but never stopped letting people in. She always opened her heart to people, and through her example, I learned to do the same. She also showed me the epitome of human generosity, and changed my life. It is because of her that I look forward to a future, let alone a future of success. I can only hope as I attend Cornell University in the fall as a pre-med major, that I can change the life of a young girl one day, the way she has changed mine. Thank you, Izzy, for everything. Today belongs to both of us._

_Congratulations to the class of 2009. May you all find someone who reminds you everyday to be the best version of yourself. _


End file.
